• Source:JND

The Delhi Police strongly opposed the bail of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, making shocking revelations that the incident was a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state and was a well-coordinated 'regime change operation'.

The Delhi Police, in its 177-page affidavit, argued that it was planned under the garb of civil dissent against the backdrop of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing on Friday. The prosecution has argued that the plan was aimed at igniting communal tensions during the visit of US President Donald Trump, to 'internationalise' the unrest and project the government as discriminatory.

According to the police, investigators have found documentary and technical evidence to prove the riots were the result of a deep-rooted conspiracy planned along communal lines.

ALSO READ: 2020 Delhi Riots : Supreme Court Postpones Bail Plea Hearing Of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Others To Oct 31

Communal violence under garb of CAA protests 

"The plan was designed to weaponise public dissent against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and strike at the sovereignty and integrity of India," the 177-page affidavit stated.

The affidavit said that the "deep-rooted, premeditated and pre-planned conspiracy" hatched by the petitioners resulted in death of 53 persons, large scale damage of public property leading to registration of 753 FIRs in Delhi alone.

The affidavit stated that CAA issue was carefully chosen to serve as a radicalising catalyst camouflaged in the name of peaceful protest.

Violence followed nationwide pattern

The police have argued that the Delhi violence followed a nationwide pattern with similar violence in Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

"This was not an isolated incident but a synchronised attempt to destabilise the government through orchestrated violence," the affidavit added.

ALSO READ: Sharjeel Imam, Accused In Delhi Riots Conspiracy Case, Seeks Bail To Contest Bihar Elections

The police filed the affidavit two days after a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria asked the enforcement agency to consider releasing the accused on bail, as several of them have spent nearly five years in judicial custody.

On Monday, the bench asked, "See if you can think of something… five years are over already." The court's remarks hint that prolonged incarceration without any substantive progress in the trial may favour the temporary release of the accused.

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