Image: Newslaundry
The hearing in Dr. Umar Khalid’s bail hearing continued before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat as the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) argued that the second phase of the riots in February 2020 were successful because of better synchronisation and mobilisation.
SPP Prasad demonstrated by showing a map of Delhi to argue that if the specific roads from various areas are blocked, then the whole north east Delhi region gets blocked.
“You have a grievance against a legislation, you are well within your rights to express your grievance but there was no reason to cause damage and destruction to property and attack police officials,” Prasad argued.
Prasad contended that the first phase of the riots (December 2019) failed because the desired mobilisation was not there as also there was lack of synergy and leadership. Moreover, there was effective police action, submitted the SPP. He referred to FIRs from December 2019 to show that there was a common pattern which was to attack police and to destroy public property.
He then tried to demonstrate through Whatsapp chats how members of JCC, JMI and DPSG were coordinating with each other and were supervising different protest sites. Prasad told the court that there was “prior planning” ahead of the riots as “petrol bombs is not something you buy in a shop.”
“You need someone to make it and someone who knows how to use it. There is prior planning. First phase riots were also not spontaneous,” Prasad told the court.
Prasad also brought in Kapil Mishra and his hate speech and said that in the Whatsapp chats when “there was a proposal to incite violence as on February 17, 2020, which is the time when you draw a narrative that Kapil Mishra came there.” He went on to ask, “Where was Kapil Mishra then?” Prasad further argued, “He has not even surfaced anywhere and your proposal to incite violence has surfaced.”
He further contended that there was an absolute silence when there was a ‘clear message of incitement to violence’ on the DPSG group and this is what Prasad called the “conspiracy of silence”.
“Here is what the experience comes in. Don’t write too much on WhatsApp, tomorrow it might be traced,” Prasad contended.
ASJ Rawat interjected, that “one common thread” he has seen on the arguments made by the SPP was that “when somebody has done something and he has said something in the group then you say they have said something nasty but when they don’t, you say they are so clever.”
“You don’t want normalisation to happen, you want things to remain violent, in unstructured format, ladies in front, uncontrolled, you are collecting mob,” he said.
He then read out certain messages from the group which said to use either Chakka jam or “hong Kong wali strategy”. “It is the Hong Kong flash mob where suddenly people come in and police is unable to do anything,” explained Prasad and then questioned why this strategy was needed if protests were meant to be peaceful.
He then pointed out to another message that said that Chakka jam should be done secretly to which Prasad said, “If chakka jam had nothing to do with anything which was prohibited or barred, then what was the meaning of secretly.” He also submitted how Safoora Zargar, who was only part of the JCC group, had information of everything that was going on across groups.
Prasad argued, “What was the idea? To paralyse the system. Nor people could come or go. Completely put the system under paralysis.”
In the previous hearing, Prasad had equated the accused in this alleged conspiracy of North East Delhi riots case to the culprits of USA’s 9/11 terror attacks pointing to the ‘meticulous planning’ and organized effort.
Khalid, activist and former student of JNU has been in prison since September 2020. He has been accused of sections 13 (Punishment for unlawful activities), 16 (Punishment for terrorist act), 17 (Punishment for raising funds for terrorist act) and 18 (Punishment for conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The submissions of the prosecution will continue on February 2.
Related:
Umar Khalid Bail: Prosecution equates NE Delhi riots ‘conspirators’ to 9/11 culprits
Umar Khalid bail: He has no argument on merits, State submits before court