Delhi riots: Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam used social media for indoctrination of youths for Chakka Jaam

Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam charge-sheeted in the case related to larger conspiracy in northeast Delhi riots in February had decided to use social media “for large scale indoctrination and mobilisation of youths for Chakka Jaam as a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB)”, police has alleged.

Delhi Police in the charge sheet alleged that the protests against CAA and the state were never peaceful since its inception and ultimate object of these protest was large scale pre-planned violence against the state.

It also made mention in the charge sheet about Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogender Yadav with whom Khalid and Imam met at Jantar Mantar in December 2019 during an agitation against CAA.

The police in the charge sheet alleged that Khalid, Yadav and Imam have decided to use social media “for large scale indoctrination and mobilisation of youths for Chakka Jaam as a protest against CAB.”

It further alleged that Imam was the mastermind of Shaheen Bagh blockade, the first protest site.

The 17,000-page charge sheet filed on September 16 in a court here gave the sequence of events leading to largescale violence in which former JNU student Khalid and his junior in the university Imam were part of the alleged conspiracy along with their associates to incite communal feelings of a particular community and instigate students of a particular community against the CAA and the state.

The police report stated that on December 7,2019, an agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act was called at Jantar Mantar by United Against Hate, citizen's campaign, which was attended by Imam along with members o a WhatsApp group “Muslim Students of JNU”.

It said that at Jantar Mantar Imam was introduced to Yogender Yadav by Khalid, his senior and mentor from JNU.

"Sharjeel Imam was on an earlier occasion instructed by Umar Khalid to form a group of like minded groups of JNU, Jamia Millia, AMU and DU. Yogender Yadav and Umar Khalid also instructed him to mobilise the students of Jamia Millia, AMU and DU,” the charge sheet stated.

"The police have stated that as per the pre-planned conspiracy accused Sharjeel Imam along with other associates started distributing pamphlets which contained such contents meant to incite communal feelings of a particular community and instigate students of a particular community against the CAA and the state.” the charge sheet alleged.

“It also reflects during the course of investigation that the protests against CAA and the state were never peaceful since its inception and ultimate object of these protest was large scale preplanned violence against the state. It also reveals their modus operandi of completely blocking the traffic that is 'Chakka Jaam' which is already cursor to inciting large scale violence,” the police alleged.

It claimed that “In pursuance and furtherance of the common conspiracy the first protest site that is Shaheen Bagh based on Chakka Jaam model was started on December 15. The WhatsApp chat between Imam and his brother Muzammil established that Imam was the mastermind of Shaheen Bagh blockade.”

Police alleged that the creation of Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) was the brain child of Umar Khalid and Nadeem Khan to rope in different student organisation of Jamia university. Asif Iqbal Tanha and Saiful Islam were the key persons behind the constitution of JCC.

The charge sheet further alleged that accused Shifa Ur Rehman (Jamia Coordination Committee member and President of Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia) and others collected funds predominantly in cash and also in bank accounts and funded the sustenance of various sit-in protest sites by providing logistics and providing daily wages to lady protestors.

“Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) also provided mike, poster, banners, ropes etc items at gate number 7 of Jamia Millia protest site. AAJMI also paid for the buses hired for the protests. The daily expenditure of AAJMI had ranged between Rs 5000- Rs 10,000 at protest site of Jamia gate number 7 alone,” it alleged.

The police have established this with the statements of witnesses and WhatsApp chats, the charge sheet stated.

“Meeting of the JCC was conducted regularly in the evening in the JCC office and active and prominent members regularly attended the meeting to formulate strategy, schemes and plans in furtherance of common conspiracy for the sustenance of the protest sites.

“As per the statement of witnesses, after the general meeting a secret meeting was also used to be held at JCC office by Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, Saif-Ul Islam, Asif Iqbal Tanha and AAJMI office bearers. In the JCC meetings, Tanha and Saiful Islam used to execute and implement the directions conveyed to them by Umar Khalid and Nadeem Khan,” it alleged.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.