NEW DELHI, Apr 6: A Delhi court Monday extended by nine days the police custody of a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite communal riots in northeast Delhi, said his lawyer.
Meeran Haider (35), a PhD student at Jamia, is the president of RJD youth wing’s Delhi unit.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sudhir Kumar Sirohi sent Haider for custodial interrogation after the police said further remand was required to confront him with co-accused and unearth the larger conspiracy in the case related to the recent communal violence in north east Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Advocate Akram Khan, appearing for Haider, opposed the police remand and said no new evidence has come up during his 4-day custody and it has the videos based on which the student was called for interrogation and arrested thereafter.
Haider was willing to join the investigation as and when required, his lawyer told the court.
Rajya Sabha MP and RJD leader Manoj Jha had tweeted, “Delhi Police called him for investigation and then received orders from above and arrested Meeran Haider, who has been helping people during the time of coronavirus outbreak.”
Chhatra RJD unit of JNU had also demanded the release of Haider and said the police should become ”people-friendly” and not scare people.
The Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC), a group comprising students and alumni from the varsity, had condemned the arrest and demanded his immediate release.
“The country is facing a massive health crisis, however, the state machinery is busy harassing and framing student activists in false cases to suppress voices of dissent,” they said.
The JCC said Haider was diligently working to provide ration to the needy during the lockdown.
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.
Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at residents and police personnel. (PTI)
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