Social Media Handles Amplifying Narrative Around Umar Khalid: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police, opposing the bail plea of activist and former JNU student Umar Khalid, argued that as part of a conspiracy, Umar Khalid used his connections with high-profile individuals to amplify the narrative around him through social media.

The arguments against Umar Khalid’s bail plea were made before Additional Session Judge Sameer Bajpai. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad stressed the data obtained from Khalid’s phone, which revealed he was in contact with actors, politicians, activists, and shared news links from certain news portals against Delhi Police.

These links were shared with a request to share them on their respective social media accounts to set a narrative.

Citing his chats with these people, Amit Prasad claimed that social media platforms of these notable personalities with considerable social media followings were used to intensify his narrative as part of the conspiracy.

The Special Public Prosecutor also played a video in the court of his father being interviewed by a news portal. SPP Amit Prasad informed the court that his father asserted that they do not have faith in the Supreme Court. “They do not have faith in the Supreme Court, and therefore they came to the trial court. This is how they are creating a narrative,” SPP Amit Prasad said. He also informed the court of a request being made by Umar Khalid to stage a protest after a particular top court proceeding.

After the arguments by the Delhi Police, Senior Advocate Trideep Pais representing Umar Khalid began his rebuttal.

“The accused has not committed any terrorist act. There is no single seizure from him,” said Senior Advocate Trideep Pais.

Pais said that the case must be assessed by looking into the material against each individual, and the documents the prosecution relies upon are statements of witnesses and Call Data Records (CDR). The CDR showed that Umar Khalid was not at the alleged meeting which the prosecution had mentioned. Pais also stressed that one of the witnesses did not say anything about the accused but then miraculously named him two weeks later.

The senior Advocate claimed that there is no credible case of conspiracy and also countered that Umar Khalid was the “mastermind” of the Delhi Riots and that women purported to be “Bangladeshi” were placed at the forefront as a shield during the riots.

“Has a single woman spoken that she hailed from Bangladesh and was made to sit in the protest?” Senior Advocate reported asking.

The next hearing in the aforementioned case is scheduled for April 24.

Umar Khalid was charged by the Delhi Police in 2020 with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful offenses, and other offenses under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He has been in jail since then.

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Mohit DalalNews Writer

Mohit Dalal, a graduate in Psychology currently pursuing a Master's degree in Journalism, is deeply intrigued by society and its norms. His interest in this captivating field has inspired a desire to excel in legal journalism. Mohit aspires to make significant contributions to the field of journalism, particularly in covering legal issues and related societal matters.

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