Delhi Riots: Police Slaps UAPA Against Second Pinjra Tod Member & JNU Student, Says lawyer

Delhi Police booked a women associated with 'Pinjra Tod' group, a collective of women students and alumni of colleges from across Delhi, under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi in February, said a lawyer on Friday.

Devangana Kalita, JNU student, has been booked under the anti-terror law for allegedly being part of a 'pre-meditated' conspiracy to incite riots in northeast Delhi and indulging in unlawful activities, said the lawyer related to the case.

She has also been charged under various sections related to sedition, attempt to murder, murder, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth etc, said the lawyer.

She was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police after the court had on June 3 granted permission to interrogate her and formally arrest her, if required. Kalita is currently under judicial custody in a case related to northeast Delhi violence.

This is the fourth case in which she has been arrested in a span of a few weeks. Two other cases relate to northeast Delhi riots, and one is related to violence during anti-CAA protests in Daryaganj in December last year.

She was arrested on May 23 in a case related to rioting in northeast Delhi. While the court had granted her bail the next day in the case, she was arrested by the Crime Branch in connection with a murder case related to the riots.

On May 30, she was arrested in a case related to violence in old Delhi's Daryaganj area in December last year. The court had granted bail to her in the case.

Another member of Pinjra Tod group and JNU student Natasha Narwal have also been booked under the UAPA in the case.

Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, Jamia students Asif Iqbal Tanha, Gulfisha Khatoon, Jamia Alumni Association President Shifa-Ur-Rehman, JNU student Natasha Narwal, activist Khalid Saifi, former Congress municipal councilor Ishrat Jahan, suspended AAP councilor Tahir Hussain and Umar Khalid have also been booked under UAPA in the case. Khalid has not been arrested yet.

According to the FIR, the communal riots from February 23-26 were a 'pre-meditated conspiracy' and hatched by Khalid and his associates. All the associates were linked to two different groups, FIR said.

It further claimed that as per the pre-planned conspiracy, Khalid had given provoking speeches at various places and appealed to the Muslim minority community gathering to block roads and other public places during the visit of President of US Donald Trump so that the propaganda may be flashed at an international platform that the community in India was being tortured.

In order to achieve these objectives, on February 23, riots occurred in different areas of Delhi and in furtherance of the nefarious designs, on February 23, 24, the two groups started riots in different parts of northeast and Shahdara districts of Delhi which continued till February 26, the FIR alleged.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.