‘Imam withdrew from Delhi anti-CAA stir before riots begun’

Imam's lawyer said prosecution itself claimed the first two phases of the riots did not succeed because the protest began being seen as “communal” due to Imam.

Sharjeel Imam’s lawyers on Saturday said that Imam had withdrawn from the anti-CAA protests in Delhi ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, fearing that the peaceful protest was turning violent.

Imam also said there were no call records or meetings to suggest he was mentored by Umar Khalid. (PTI)

Advocate Talib Mustafa, appearing for Imam, said the prosecution itself had claimed that the first two phases of the riots did not succeed because the protest began being seen as “communal” due to Imam.

Imam’s statements come three days after his lawyer argued before additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts, seeking a discharge in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

Stressing the need to correct an erroneous impression of his January 8 court submissions, Mustafa said the prosecution’s charge sheet includes a statement of a co-accused who allegedly criticised Imam for turning the protest “communal”.

The counsel clarified, “As per prosecution, a communal tag was getting attached to the protest because of Sharjeel’s utterances which was getting mileage because of Shaheen Bagh’s popularity”.

Advocate Mustafa said, “Prosecution claims that by the third phase of the riots, which began around the second week of January, Sharjeel had already left Delhi’s anti-CAA stir”.

While making his submissions before ASJ Bajpai, Imam had said that even as per the prosecution, Imam’s alleged involvement was limited to December 2019, weeks before the violence, ruling out participation in February 2020 planning.

His lawyer said Imam consistently advocated non-violence and was never part of the Delhi Police Support Group (DPSG) WhatsApp groups, which were allegedly used to coordinate chakka jams. Instead, he had created a separate group called Muslim Students of Jamia for peaceful protests.

Imam also said there were no call records or meetings to suggest he was mentored by Umar Khalid.

The Supreme Court, on January 5, refused bail to Imam and Khalid in the larger conspiracy case but granted bail to five co-accused, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed, saying that their continued jail time was not necessary for a fair trial.

Imam is among the 17 accused in the case linked to an alleged conspiracy that led to communal violence in Northeast Delhi in February 2020, in which 53 people died and hundreds were injured. Eleven of the accused are currently out on bail. The case is at the stage of arguments on framing of charges, with 17 of the 18 accused having completed their arguments.