Case against me cooked up, evidence fabricated: Umar Khalid tells Delhi court

Student activist Umar Khalid, jailed for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots, on Wednesday told a Delhi court that the conspiracy case against him was “entirely fabricated”, alleging a systematic effort to frame him.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, argued that the case was based on “blatant fabrication” of evidence, claiming that witnesses had merely repeated what the investigating officer (IO) told them to say.

“Please see how blatant the fabrication of evidence is… Witnesses have supported whatever the IO has cooked up. If you examine the material against me, you will also conclude this is a cooked-up case,” Pais submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at the Karkardooma courts.

He added that till now, there have been at least 17 instances when courts have held that the police fabricated evidence in Delhi riots cases and that more than 90 people have been acquitted in different FIRs.

The court is currently hearing arguments on charges in the high-profile conspiracy case, in which Khalid is facing proceedings along with Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd Saleem Khan, Athar Khan and Faizan Khan. Arguments will continue on October 8.

At the previous hearing, Pais had described the FIR against Khalid as a “joke”, stressing that his client has already spent five years in custody. Khalid, arrested on September 13, 2020, recently had his bail plea rejected by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court on September 2. He has since moved the Supreme Court, where the matter is listed for hearing on October 27.