New Delhi: Student activist Umar Khalid’s counsel has accused the Delhi Police of manipulating a witness statement to justify his arrest in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case. Senior advocate Trideep Pais told the Karkardooma Court that the police coached a false witness only days before Khalid’s arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Pais argued that the police built their case around a fabricated statement by Rahul Kasana, the driver of co-accused and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain. Kasana claimed that Khalid, Hussain, and student activist Gulfisha Fatima met at the Popular Front of India office in Shaheen Bagh to plan the riots. According to Pais, Kasana’s earlier statements in May 2020 did not mention any such meeting, which appeared for the first time in late September 2020, shortly before Khalid’s arrest on October 1.
The defence further pointed out that call detail records contradicted the police version. The chargesheet said the meeting took place on January 8, 2020, but phone data showed Khalid was in Zakir Nagar at that time, not Shaheen Bagh. Pais also recalled that in a previous Khajuri Khas FIR, Kasana’s testimony had been found unreliable by the court, and Khalid was discharged in 2022.
Khalid’s lawyer stressed that there was no recovery from him and no evidence of funding or incitement. He accused investigators of building a pre-determined case narrative. The court has adjourned the hearing, and further arguments will continue in the next session.
