Arrested in the Delhi riots case, the Special Cell of Delhi Police has booked the Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for purportedly being a part of a larger conspiracy behind the February riots in northeast Delhi.
The development comes days after the Delhi Police’s crime branch arrested the SIO member and Jamia student in connection with the violence that erupted in the national capital during the anti-CAA protests in December last year. He is a resident of Shaheen Bagh.
A Delhi court on Wednesday sent the Jamia Millia student on a seven days remand in a case related to the communal flare-up that erupted in northeast Delhi in February during protests against the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The police argued in the court that Tanha’s custody was required to uncover the larger conspiracy and to confront him with the electronic data collected during the investigation.
Tanha, a member of the Students Islamic Organisation and a part of Jamia Coordination Committee which led the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, was arrested by the police on 17 May and was booked under the UAPA on the charges of being involved in the bigger conspiracy of engineering Delhi riots, a senior police official said.
Besides Tanha, others who are arrested in the case and are slapped with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) comprise- Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zagar, Meera Haider, President of Jamia Alumni Association Shifa-Ur-Rehman, suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain.
Arrests made in anti-CAA Riots case
Safoora Zargar, a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was arrested in connection with her alleged involvement in the anti-CAA riots. Her arrest has led to a barrage of propaganda accusing the Delhi Police of ‘anti-Muslim’ bias. The Delhi Police had recently slammed far-left propagandists at The Wire for making such dubious allegations.
Earlier, Meeran Haider, also a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was arrested by Delhi Police. He was arrested on the 2nd of April in connection with rioting and criminal conspiracy pertaining to anti-Hindu riots in north-east Delhi that have claimed the lives of 53 people and left over 400 injured. Meeran Haider is also the president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal youth wing’s Delhi unit.