On the 11th of March, news emerged that Congress leader Digvijay Singh defended Umar Khalid, UAPA accused in the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots 2020 case, claiming that he was innocent and was being targeted by the government.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh defends 2020 Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid, claiming that he is "innocent" and being "unfairly targeted" and "harassed" by the authorities. BJP hits out
— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 11, 2025
News18's @Elizasherine with details @akankshaswarups | #DigvijayaSingh #UmarKhalid pic.twitter.com/ErUCAruF5y
Digvijay Singh claimed that Umar Khalid “sahab” was innocent and that he was being targeted. He further said that Congress’ fight would go on and there would be no compromise with those who “spread hate”. “We are not few. If we become one, we can fight. I am with you”, he said.
Digvijay Singh was sharing the stage with Umar Khalid’s father – SQR Ilyasi – who used to be associated with SIMI – another proscribed terrorist organisation.
That Digvijay Singh would defend terrorists comes as no surprise to those who have followed his political career. Digvijay Singh was at the forefront of propagating the false “Hindu terror” theory. Such was the hate that Singh had also released a book called “26/11 – RSS ki Saazish”, exonerating Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba terrorists for the Mumbai terror attack.
Singh’s defence of Umar Khalid, however, is not just an expression of unbridled hate, propaganda and votebank politics. As OpIndia has covered in the past, the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots of February 2020 was the result of a deep-rooted, long-standing conspiracy which was hatched right from the 6th of December 2019 – and Congress was deeply intertwined in the conspiracy.
On the 14th of December 2019, Sonia Gandhi – the interim President of Congress at the time – spoke about an “aar ya paar ki ladai” in the context of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Speaking at a “Bharat Bachao Rally”, Sonia Gandhi from the Ramlila Maidan delivered a war cry. She said that the people should come out on the streets to agitate against the Modi government. She also said that the Congress and the people should be ready to make any sacrifice to “protect” India and that this is an ‘aar paar ki ladai’ (the final battle) and people should be willing for any ‘Qurbani’ (sacrifice). The provocative speech was later held responsible for the Delhi riots by some victims themselves.
#Exclusive | Sonia Gandhi's 'aar ya paar ki ladai' call is to blame for the violence: Bilkesh, the woman who confronted Rahul Gandhi expresses her angst & anger on TIMES NOW.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 5, 2020
Listen in. | #JantaExposesRahul pic.twitter.com/0ZtUtUIxsr
It was evident from Sonia Gandhi’s speech that Congress’ tentacles were not divorced from the violence that was erupting in several parts of India, masked as “protests” against the CAA.
Those suspicions were confirmed when OpIndia discovered several WhatsApp group being run by NSUI functionaries – which were being used to instigate violence across University campuses.
The several groups, one in particular spearheaded by one Reetam Singh, Congress functionary, was planning protests on the 19th of December. The group wanted to “learn from Assam protests” and replicate Hong Kong style protests. In fact, in that group, the specific plan was to keep “women as the front line of the protest” – a plan which was replicated in the Shaheen Bagh protests and the Delhi anti-Hindu riots that followed.
It is pertinent to note that the concept of Chakka Jam had emerged on the 7th of December 2019 when Yogender Yadav and Umar Khalid had instructed Sharjeel Imam to use social media for large scale indoctrination and mobilization of youths for “Chakkajaam” as a protest against CAA, according to the chargesheet in the Delhi Riots.
In the meeting held at ISI, Lodhi Colony by Harsh Mandar, Yogender Yadav, Umar Khalid, Nadeem Khan, Khalid Saifi, Sahil, Rahul Roy, Saba Dewan, Amrita Johri and others, it was decided that women would be kept as a front line of protests so police could not take action. This meeting was held on the 26th of December 2019. Before that, the NSUI group had already floated this idea in connection with the SFI protest in Madras University. Pertinently, SFI was also a part of the larger conspiracy ahead of the Delhi anti-Hindu riots 2020.
In the NSUI groups, there were also representatives of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav present and both of them were involved in the Delhi Riots conspiracy, as has been mentioned in the chargesheet – Prashant Bhushan hosted the first conspiracy meeting at his premises and Yogendra Yadav was present in several meetings where the conspiracy was hatched.
From the given information, it is evident that Congress was deeply intertwined in the conspiracy. However, now new information has emerged which indicates that the involvement may have not been limited to NSUI and accused like Ishrat Jahan – but right up to a close aid of Rahul Gandhi.
What is the DPSG Whatsapp group, how and when was it formed
While the conspiracy was ongoing for days, evidenced by the 8th of December 2019 meeting between Yogendra Yadav, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and others at Prashant’s Bhushan’s premises, an important conspiracy meeting was held on the 26th of December 2019.
On the 26th of December 2019, a meeting was held at ISI, Lodhi Colony attended by Harsh Mandar, Yogender Yadav, Umar Khalid, Nadeem Khan, Khalid Saifi, Sahil, Rahul Roy, Saba Dewan, Amrita Johri and others. In this meeting, several decisions were taken – including how there should be Chakka Jam, and how protest sites should be in Muslim-dominated areas, it should be women-centric so the police can’t do much, formation of DPSG group, organising the funds to sustain and legal teams for criminals who police would detain.
The next day, the DPSG group was formed and the minutes of the meeting were posted on the group by Khalid Saifi.
The DPSG group, thereafter, acted as the central conspiratorial group where all the accused, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others were present. The centrality of the DPSG Whatsapp group in planning, coordinating and mobilising for the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots has been underscored by the chargesheet and in court on several occasions. In fact, it has specifically been pointed out that there were certain people like one “Owais Sultan” who had flagged the issue of how a conspiracy to create violence was afoot by members of the group.
Rahul Gandhi’s close aid was a part of the DPSG group
With the centrality of the DPSG Whatsapp group established multiple times by the investigators, it is imperative to understand that perhaps, nobody who was a part of the group was there out of innocence. This is to say, that nobody, who was a part of the group, was unaware of the conspiracy being hatched.
It would, therefore, be safe to conclude that if a high-ranking political official was a part of the group up until the end of the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots 2020, he was either a part of the conspiracy, was added there because he was the eyes and ears of his political master to ensure that the conspiracy progressed smoothly, or, the political functionary was there in his individual capacity, in which case, it would become evident that a hateful conspirator himself was advising the top politician.
In the DPSG group, as discussed earlier, there were several conspirators and co-conspirators of the Delhi anti-Hindu violence. Also, in the group, not only was the violence discussed, but several other aspects of the conspiracy were also discussed. For example, a member of the group – Owais Sultan – blamed the group and its members for orchestrating violence in Northeast Delhi. It is, therefore, impossible that anyone who was a part of the group was not aware of the Delhi riots conspiracy.
A closer look at the members of the group, a step warranted given the severity of the conspiracy and the subsequent violence, threw up a startling revelation.
Rahul Gandhi’s close aide was a part of the group from the 29th of December 2019 up until the 12th of March 2020 – when he was removed by the admins of the group.
The DPSG group was created right after the 26th December 2019 meeting – in which Harsh Mandar, Yogender Yadav, Umar Khalid, Nadeem Khan, Khalid Saifi, Sahil, Rahul Roy, Saba Dewan, Amrita Johri, Asif Mujtaba and others were present. After the group was created, members were added to the group. On the 29th of December 2019, someone in the group raised a question about those without identity verification being added to the group.
An individual called “PC” said that everyone should identify themselves in the group. This messaged was addressed to Rahul Roy, the pioneer of the ‘Not in my name’ protest and the man who had started the DPSG group.
In the same message, “PC” had also suggested taking to the streets and guarding Shaheen Bagh protest sight.
To this, Rahul Roy responded on the same day saying that only those people who were present in the meeting had been added to the group. The meeting he was referring to was the one held on the 26th of December 2019 where Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and several other co-conspirators were present.
After this conversation, “PC” introduced himself, as did others.
“PC” said he was “Priyadarshi Chowdhury” – an ex-serviceman and associated with Gandhi Peace Foundation. As it turns out, Chowdhury has been long associated with the Aam Admi Party. He has often spread fake news and spread misinformation and propaganda against the interest of India.
While the introductions were ongoing, Rahul Roy, the main coordinator and the man who started the DPSG group added another number to the group.
Since the time this number (9899717875) was added, the individual sent no messages to the group. The first and only message that was sent by this individual was on the 3rd of January 2020 – right after the Delhi anti-Hindu riots which saw the brutal murder of several Hindus – including those like Ankit Sharma, Ratan Lal and Dilbr Negi.
On the 3rd of January, at 1:13 AM, Priyadarshi Chowdhury again sent a message addressing Rahul Roy urging that everyone in the group identify themselves. He suggested giving a 24-hour deadline for everyone to introduce themselves in full, failing which, they should be removed from the group.
At 8:03 AM on the 3rd of February, the number 9899717875, added on the 29th of December 2019, identified himself.
The number 9899717875 belonged to one “Sachin Rao” who said he was affiliated with the Congress.
Who is Congress’ Sachin Rao – the silent observer in the DPSG group, created to coordinate the Delhi anti-Hindu riots
Sachin Rao, who said he was “affiliated with Congress”, actually has far greater responsibilities than just a cursory affiliation.
Even a cursory search of the number added to the DPSG group reveals that Sachin Rao is an important office bearer of Congress and Rahul Gandhi’s close aid.
On the AICC officer bearers page, Sachin Rao (listed with the same mobile number), is marked as the in charge of training, Sandesh.
Rao is also a “permanent invitee” of the CWC – the Congress Working Committee.
Sachin Rao has long been regarded as a close aide and trusted team member of Rahul Gandhi. In 2022, when Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from Congress, he wrote a scathing letter blaming Rahul Gandhi’s “PAs and guards”. Sachin Rao found a prominent mention in the list of PAs and guards that Azad mentioned.
The Statesmen said, “Sachin Rao, who is heading the Congress training cell, has moved out of Rahul Gandhi’s office but his advice is considered important. He has studied in the Michigan Business School”.
Sachin Rao has been cited as a close aide of Rahul Gandhi in several media reports, starting from 2009.
In 2009, The Open Magazine published an article identifying Rao as a close aide who was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi to be a part of his team.
In 2013, Times of India identified Sachin Rao as an important part of Rahul Gandhi’s core team. India Today wrote, “Another resource person at Gandhi’s office, Rao seldom travels with his boss but makes important interventions when it comes to social sector schemes, probably because the first time that Rao met Gandhi was when he was a member of the Centre for Civil Society. A graduate of the Michigan Business School, he is also involved in internal surveys research and coordinates certain aspects of IYC and NSUI with Gandhi. Not a frequent flyer between Delhi and Amethi unlike other members of Gandhi’s team, the only news snippet which surfaced about him was when Gandhi nominated him for a refresher course in management at the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business(ISB)”.
In 2015, Business Standard reported that Sachin Rao was a part of Rahul Gandhi’s 2.0 team, reiterating that he was handpicked by Gandhi himself.
In 2018, News18 identified Sachin Rao as a part of Rahul Gandhi’s core team.
In September 2019, 2 months before Sachin Rao was added to the DPSG group, The Print wrote about the core team of Rahul Gandhi. Print wrote, “Office of RG — as the team is informally referred to by many Congress leaders — came into existence in 2017, when Rahul took over as party chief. The team, an amalgamation of young politicians and non-political actors, includes his social media coordinator Nikhil Alva, Alankar Sawai, Sachin Rao, K. Raju, Praveen Chakaravarty, Sandeep Singh, and K.B. Byju”.
In fact, Print revealed just how close Rao was to Rahul Gandhi.
As recently as 2024, Rasheed Kidwai wrote about Sachin Rao being a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi.
Why was Sachin Rao removed from the DPSG group right after the Delhi anti-Hindu riots
Sachin Rao was added immediately after the DPSG group was formed and after Rahul Roy admitted that only those present in the 26th December 2019 conspiratorial meeting were being added to the group. Thereafter, Sachin Rao posted only one message identifying himself to the group. That message was sent on 3rd February 2020 – within 7 hours of Priyadarshi demanding that those in the group identify themselves within 24 hours. This makes it evident that Sachin Rao – close aide of Rahul Gandhi – was reading the messages being posted in the group.
While Sachin Rao was silently observing the group’s activities, he was removed from the group by Rahul Roy on the 12th of March 2020. Along with Sachin Rao, another person was removed that day – Athar Khan.
Rahul Roy specifically removing these two individuals on the 12th of March is a significant development which may give us a window into the role of Sachin Rao.
The first arrest in the Delhi Riots cases took place on the 5th of March 2020. The larger conspiracy FIR (59/2020) was registered on the 6th of March 2020 and the first arrest in the conspiracy case was made on the 9th of March. It was only on the 11th of March that details of the arrest in the conspiracy case was made public.
On the 11th of March, after news of the arrest became public, one of the conspirators, Mariya Salim sent a message on the group urging that the group be deleted and everyone must clear their chats. She says that the group could reconvene on signal app.
Thereafter, Rahul Roy sent a message that every member must delete their messages individually to remove all trace of the communication.
Immediately after this message exchange, on the 12th of March, Rahul Roy removed two people from the group. One was Sachin Rao and the other was Athar Khan.
Athar Khan is one of the main conspirators of the Delhi anti-Hindu violence and has been charged under the stringent UAPA. His role in the conspiracy is well established by the chargesheet and through witness statements. In 2022, the trial court had denied bail to Athar. The court noted, “On 16-17/02/2020, a midnight secret meeting takes place at Chand Bagh for Chakka Jam. Athar, Suleiman Siddique, Natasha, Devangana, Gulfisha, Shadab, Salim Malik, Saleem Khan, Tasleem, Ayyaz and others attend the meeting. Planning for chakkajam during the visit of President of USA and adoption of violent measures to escalate the protest was taken in this meeting. DPSG chat revealed that the meeting failed as a result of uninviting and disturbing elements which became aware of time and venue of the said meeting. There was a clear message on DPSG Whatsapp chat where one member clearly said that “danga nahin karne denge tumhe aur tumhare doston ko””.
The court then says, “Owais Sultan Khan, member of DPSG was repeatedly messaging about the violence planning discussed at Chand Bagh secret meeting of 16/17.02.2020. He specifically says that the locals are not willing to block the road but outsiders are planning to do it. They want nonviolent protest. It was specifically and repeatedly pointed out that they don’t want violence in their areas. He specifically says that accused Athar was saying in that secret meeting about the plans of road blockade and the proposal to incite violence (this is an electronic and contemporaneous document)”.
The court says, “Owais Sultan Khan categorically mentions on 22.02.2022 that if something wrong happens, Athar you will be responsible. You are putting the lives of locals in danger. Your wild entertainment for easy publicity will cause them heavily. He again reminds in a post that the locals of Seelampur and TransYamuna are in great trouble because of fantasies. He cites what the Pinjra Tod is saying that “Kafan Baandh ke aaye hain; aur joh humare saath nahin, who desh ka gaddar hai” in response to the local women protesters requesting them not to block the road”.
Tracing the entire conspiracy, the role of Athar and the several other meetings he was a part of where he specifically conspired to create violence, the court says, “Thus, on the perusal of the chargesheet and accompanying documents, for the limited purpose of the bail, I am of the opinion that allegations against the accused Athar Khan are prima facie true”.
That Rahul Roy was remove Athar Khan from the group after the news of the arrest became public would be common place, given that presumably, even Roy knew of Athar’s deep rooted role in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots conspiracy.
The removal of Sachin Rao, however, raises several questions especially when he was removed along with one of the main conspirators of the Delhi violence, booked under UAPA.
So what was Sachin Rao – Rahul Gandhi’s close aide and ‘core group’ member – doing in the DPSG group
The mere presence of Sachin Rao, along with his suspicious removal from the DPSG group raises several questions. But before we contemplate those questions, it must be remembered that the saga of violence with regards to the CAA started with a call to action by Sonia Gandhi herself where she urged people to take to the streets for an “aar ya paar ki ladai”. Thereafter, we have traced the role of NSUI in creating violence through December 2019 and January 2020. We must also remember that Ishrat Jahan, a former municipal councillor for the Indian National Congress, has also been booked under UAPA for her role in the Delhi Riots conspiracy.
Given the intimate involvement of Congress in the progression of violence, there are several questions that are left unanswered with regards to Sachin Rao and his participation in the DPSG group.
- Sachin Rao was added to the group by Rahul Roy after Roy claimed that only those who were a part of the 26th December conspiratorial meeting were being included. Was Sachin Rao a part of the conspiratorial meeting?
- Sachin Rao responded with his identification at 8:03 AM – only 7 hours after it was demanded that those in the group identify themselves. This proves that Rao was reading the messages being exchanged in the group. If he was not a part of the conspiracy, why did he not take any action when messages talking about violence were being exchanged in the group?
- Sachin Rao says that he was a part of the group in his “individual capacity”. Even if one is to believe that to be true, would it mean that someone who was willingly a part of the conspiracy to create violence is a close aide of Rahul Gandhi and his trusted advisor training Congress cadre and a part of CWC?
- Was Sachin Rao present in the DPSG group as an observer of the conspiracy?
- Was Rahul Gandhi aware of the conspiracy to target Hindus and create violence, given that his trusted advisor, CWC permanent invitee and core team member was a part of the group where the conspiracy was being hatched?
- What is the relationship between Sachin Rao and Rahul Roy?
- Does Sachin Rao’s apparent involvement play a part in Congress defending co-conspirators like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others?
- Was Sonia Gandhi aware of the conspiracy and Sachin Rao’s involvement in the conspiracy – if at all?
- Was Sachin Rao a part of the conspiratorial meeting (a deduction from Rahul Roy’s message) and subsequently in the group at the behest of Rahul Gandhi and/or Sonia Gandhi?
These are pertinent questions that Congress must answer and the Delhi police must investigate, given the ramifications of a trusted advisor of Rahul Gandhi being, potentially, a part of the conspiracy which led to the Delhi anti-Hindu riots of 2020.
