Delhi Police calls 2020 Delhi riots a ‘regime change op’ in SC affidavit: Report
Khalid, Imam and the rest of the accused persons were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots
The violence in the 2020 Delhi riots was part of a coordinated “regime change operation”, the Delhi Police is set to tell the Supreme Court in its affidavit, according to a media report on Thursday (October 30).
The Delhi Police will make this startling revelation in the affidavit to be filed in the Supreme Court opposing bail to activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima and others in the February 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.
Also read: 2020 Delhi riots: SC defers to Oct 31 hearing on bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
According to a report in India Today, the affidavit claims the riots were not a spontaneous protest, but a meticulously planned attempt to destabilise India’s internal harmony and international standing.
'Designed to weaponise public dissent against CAA'
“The plan was designed to weaponise public dissent against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and strike at the sovereignty and integrity of India," the Delhi Police said in the affidavit, as per the report.
Police said that the CAA issue was “carefully chosen to serve as a radicalising catalyst camouflaged as peaceful protest”, the report further said.
Also read: 2020 Delhi riots: HC denies bail to Tahir Hussain in IB staffer murder case
The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
SC refuses to give police 2 weeks
Earlier on Monday, the Supreme Court refused to give two weeks to Delhi Police for filing its reply on bail pleas of Khalid, Imam, Fatima and Haider in the larger conspiracy case.
Last month, Khalid's lawyer said his client spent five years in custody in what he called a "joke of an FIR", which did not have the "sanctity of law".
Khalid was arrested in the case on September 13, 2020. Twenty people, including activists Imam, Khalid Saifi and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were booked for their alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy to incite the riots.
Booked under UAPA
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for Khalid, said that Delhi Police, in its charge sheet, accused Khalid and others of conspiring to protest and participate in the riots to discredit India during US President Donald Trump's visit to New Delhi in 2020.
Khalid, Imam and the rest of the accused persons were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The accused, who have denied all the allegations against them, have been in jail since 2020 and had moved the high court after a trial court rejected their bail pleas.