Delhi violence: Suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain booked under UAPA, activists Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi arrested

New Delhi: Delhi police has booked suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a lawyer said on Wednesday.

Police has also arrested former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan and activist Khalid Saifi in the case, said advocate Akram Khan who is representing other accused in the matter.

Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was booked by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in Northeast riots and was arrested by them more than a week ago for his alleged involvement in riots, a senior police official said.

Hussain was arrested earlier in connection with the alleged killing of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the communal violence in northeast Delhi.

Police has already booked Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite communal riots in northeast Delhi in February, under the Act. While Zargar is the media coordinator of Jamia Coordination Committee, Haider is a member of the committee.

In the FIR, police has claimed that the communal violence was a “premeditated conspiracy” which was allegedly hatched by former JNU student leader Umar Khalid and two others.

The students have also been booked for the offences of sedition, murder, attempt to murder, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and rioting.

Khalid had allegedly given provocative speeches at two different places and appealed to the citizens to come out on streets and block the roads during the visit of US President Donald Trump to spread propaganda at international level about how minorities in India are being persecuted, the FIR alleged.

In this conspiracy, firearms, petrol bombs, acid bottles and stones were collected at numerous homes, the FIR claimed.

Co-accused Danish was allegedly given the responsibility to gather people from two different places to take part in the riots, police alleged. Women and children were made to block the roads under the Jaffrabad metro station on 23 February to create tension amidst the neighbourhood people, the FIR said.

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