Syed Khalique Ahmed & Syed Ali Ahmed
NEW DELHI, MAY 28—Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, who was on Thursday granted bail by Additional Sessions Judge Gaurav Rao in connection with the Jamia violence case in December 2019 will, however, continue to remain in judicial custody as the investigative agencies have invoked charges under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against him in connection with the northeast Delhi violence in February this year.
Speaking to India Tomorrow, Advocate Sowjhanya Shankaran, who appeared for Asif in the Saket Courts, said there are two cases registered against him. One pertaining to the Jamia violence in December last year in Jamia Nagar Police Station under various Sections of Indian Penal Code and the other pertaining to the northeast Delhi riots case under UAPA. “He has been granted bail in Jamia violence case but will still continue in judicial custody due to charges under UAPA levelled against him in the northeast Delhi violence case. He requires bail in the northeast Delhi case as well to get out of jail”, said the advocate.
A third-year student of BA (Persian) in Jamia, Asif was arrested on May 17. He was granted bail in Jamia case on ground of parity as eight, out of 10 accused in the Jamia case, have already been given bail. “Considering the clean antecedents of the accused, on the ground of parity, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case and most importantly, considering the present situation arising out of Covid-19, the accused is admitted to bail on furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs. 25,000, with one sound surety of like amount to the satisfaction of Learned Duty Metropolitan Magistrate”, the bail order issued by ASJ Gaurav Rao said.
Besides Asif, several other Jamia students including Jamia Coordination Committee(JCC) media coordinator and a PhD student Safoora Zargar, JCC member and Delhi unit RJD president Meeran Haider, and Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) president Shifa-ur-Rahman were also arrested earlier in connection with the Jamia violence and charges under UAPA were slapped against them by linking them with the northeast Delhi violence in which 53 persons, mostly Muslims, were killed, several hundreds were injured and thousands of people displaced who have yet not been able to return to their houses. Properties worth thousands of crores of rupees, almost all belonging to Muslims, were also destroyed in the violence. All these Jamia students continue to be in prison. Ironically, the police are putting the entire blame for the riots on the Muslims and former JNU scholar Umar Khalid and Danish, a resident of Bhajanpura in northeast Delhi, have been named as chief conspirator of the Delhi riots.
AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, social activist Khalid Saifi, former Congress corporator Ishrat Jahan and Gulfishan, an MBA student and a resident of Jafrabad, have also been arrested under UAPA in the February riots case. Initially, they were booked under Sections of IPC only and UAPA was slapped, later on, against them.
What is important to mention here is that all these students and activists had played a leading role in anti-CAA agitation in their respective areas. The police have so far totally ignored to register FIRs against BJP leader Kapil Mishra who organized a pro-CAA demonstration near the anti-CAA dharna in Jafrabad that is alleged to have become the immediate trigger for the northeast Delhi violence. Earlier, Mishra at a public meeting in Model Town had raised slogans referring to Muslims as traitors and appealing his audience to shoot them down, creating a communal atmosphere in the national capital.
Subsequently, Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur also repeated the first line of Mishra’s slogan “Desh ke gaddaron ko” at a public rally and the crowd responded “goli maaro ***lon ko”.
While firing took place at anti-CAA protest sites at Jamia and Shaheen Bagh by two different youths and both of whom were captured by the locals and the police with their weapons. But the police registered cases under Arms Act and under Sections of IPC only. No terror case under UAPA was booked against them. While both the incidents of firing took place after provocative speeches by the two BJP leaders, it is a matter of investigation if the youths involved in firing were motivated by the speeches of the BJP leaders.
Social activists say that all this indicates that police are working under strong pressure from their political bosses and not independently. They say that this is spoiling the fair image of Delhi police which is considered to be the best police force in the country.
