New Delhi: Hours after the arrest of activist Umar Khalid in ‘connection’ to the northeast Delhi violence, BJP leader Kapil Mishra congratulated the Delhi Police for their action through a video message on his Twitter account.
Mishra, who had given a provocative speech including the remark “we will clear the streets forcefully” hours before the Delhi riots said, “People like Umar Khalid, Tahir Hussain and Khalid Saifi among others had brought about a planned massacre and that these terrorists and killers should be hanged”.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a meeting with 25,000 employees on June 2 had referred Mishra’s speech to have incited violence.
The former JNU student and United Against Hate member, Khalid was interrogated by the Delhi Police, who according to Minority Commission, were silent spectators of riots. Khalid was grilled for eleven hours on Sunday prior to his arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) post-midnight, for his alleged role in the Delhi violence of February 2020.
Khalid had been named in several charge sheets and projected as the ‘mastermind’ and ‘conspirator’ of the riots. He came to Delhi from Kolkata back in August when he was summoned by Delhi Police special cell for the first time.
In a video, uploaded on his Twitter handle, Mishra also named Safoora Zargar, Saifi in what he called the planning of an orchestrated massacre with an aim to kill people in large numbers, and compared the violence in February in Delhi to a terrorist attack like 26/11.
Mishra claimed that there had been months of planning involved in the riots which resulted in people being killed and homes being burnt.
He also added that these “terrorists” being charged and arrested should be executed or imprisoned for life and the people of Delhi will be waiting to get the justice.
The Delhi Police had added the UAPA to the FIR related to northeast Delhi violence, which named Khalid, among others. In the FIR, the police had claimed that the communal violence was a “premeditated conspiracy” which was allegedly conspired by Khalid and two others.
The FIR alleged that Khalid had given provocative speeches at two different places and appealed to the citizens to come out on streets and block the roads during the visit of US President Donald Trump, to spread propaganda at the international level about how minorities in India are being persecuted.