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Delhi Riot Case: Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Thursday that when intellectuals become terrorists, they become more dangerous than those working on the ground.
Delhi riot case: Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Thursday that when intellectuals become terrorists, they become more dangerous than those working on the ground. Police strongly opposed the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the February 2020 riots case. Police said that involvement of doctors and engineers in anti-national activities has now become a trend. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Delhi Police, told the bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and NV Anjaria that the delay in the trial was because of the accused and they cannot take advantage of it. Raju showed videos of Imam giving inflammatory speeches against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the apex court. In the video, Imam was shown giving speeches in Chakhand, Jamia, Aligarh and Asansol in 2019 and 2020, before the riots in Delhi in February 2020. Stating that Imam is an engineering graduate.
Trend of indulging in anti-national activities increased among doctors and engineers
The lawyer said that nowadays there is a trend that doctors and engineers are not doing their profession but are involved in anti-national activities. Raju said that this is not an ordinary protest. This is a violent protest. They are talking about blockade. To this Justice Kumar asked whether the speeches were part of the charge sheet, to which Raju replied in the affirmative. Raju said that the ultimate intention of the accused is regime change. The CAA protests were a lure, the real objective was to bring about regime change, create economic deprivation and anarchy across the country. The riots were deliberately timed to coincide with the visit of US President Donald Trump. These so-called intellectuals are more dangerous than grassroots terrorists.
Attempt to divide the society on communal basis
Khalid, Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Rehman were booked under provisions of UAPA, stringent anti-terrorism law and the then IPC for being the masterminds of the 2020 riots. 53 people were killed and more than 700 were injured in the riots. The violence had erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Strongly opposing the bail pleas of the activists, the Additional Solicitor General had on Tuesday argued that this was not something spontaneous but a planned, premeditated and calculated attack on the sovereignty of the nation. Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, had told the bench that an attempt was being made to divide the society on communal lines and this was not just a movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
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