#StandWithUmar: Solidarity Pours in for Khalid Post His Arrest
People took to Twitter to express their unhappiness over Khalid’s arrest, and to express solidarity with him.
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The Delhi Police on Sunday, 13 September, arrested former JNU student and United Against Hate member Umar Khalid under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for his alleged role in the northeast Delhi violence of February 2020.
Following Khalid’s arrest, his father, national president of the Welfare Party of India, SQR Ilyas, said: "My son Umar Khalid has been arrested tonight at 11:00 pm by Special Cell, Delhi Police under UAPA. Police was questioning him since 1:00 pm. He has been implicated in Delhi Riots.”
Khalid has been named in several charge sheets and projected as the ‘mastermind’ and ‘conspirator’ of the riots. He came to Delhi from Kolkata back in August, when he was summoned by Delhi Police Special Cell for the first time. During that questioning, his phone had been seized by the police as well.
United Against Hate put out a statement, condemning Khalid’s arrest:
After 11 hours of interrogation, the Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested Umar Khalid as a "conspirator" in the Delhi Riots case.
The fairytale narrative that DP has been spinning criminalising protests in the garb of investigating riots, find yet another victim.
The fight against draconian CAA and UAPA will go on despite all these horrid measures of intimidation.
Right now, our first priority is that he should be given maximum security and the Delhi Police must ensure his safety by all means possible.
Others, too, took to Twitter to express their unhappiness over Khalid’s arrest, and to show solidarity with the student activist.
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