JNUSU organises march in support of jailed activists

The protest drew participation from several relatives of the accused, including Umar Khalid’s father.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Friday held a “freedom march” from Ganga Dhaba to Sabarmati Dhaba, expressing solidarity with student activist Sharjeel Imam, former JNU scholar Umar Khalid, and others jailed in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. The march a day after the Supreme Court adjourned by a week the hearing on their bail pleas.

Umar Khalid

The protest drew participation from several relatives of the accused, including Khalid’s father. Placards and slogans at the march highlighted what students described as the prolonged and unjust incarceration of those charged under conspiracy allegations linked to the 2020 communal violence.

“More than five years have passed since Umar, Sharjeel, Meeran, Gulfisha, and others have been wrongfully incarcerated by the BJP-RSS regime. Yet again, their bail pleas have been rejected,” JNUSU said in a statement, demanding their immediate release and accusing the government of suppressing dissent.