Delhi riots: Court denies bail to Mohd. Saleem Khan

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said the ground was not enough to grant the relief to Mohd. Saleem Khan in connection with a case related to alleged larger conspiracy into the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.

New Delhi: A court here on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Mohd. Saleem Khan in connection with a case related to alleged larger conspiracy into the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, lodged under stringent UAPA, while deferring the order on bail application of Sharjeel Imam for March 26. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said the ground was not enough to grant the relief to Khan.

Besides Imam's application, the court said the order on Meeran Haider's bail plea will be pronounced on March 25. During the arguments, the prosecution had opposed Khan's bail application, saying that the riots were meticulously planned, and that there was destruction of properties, disruption of essential services and use of petrol bombs, lathis and stones.

The accused have been booked under the anti-terror law in the case for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence had erupted during the protests against the citizenship law CAA and the National Register of Citizens. Besides Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case.

PTI