📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Govt. of India
Crime
Delhi Police calls Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam masterminds, backs detention in 2020 riots
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 27 Aug 2026, 05:03 AM
👁 3
The Delhi Police told the High Court that activist Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are the masterminds behind the 2020 Delhi riots and that their continued detention is justified.
Delhi Police appeared before the Delhi High Court to oppose bail applications filed by activist Umar Khalid and former student leader Sharjeel Imam. In its written submission, the police described the two as the chief architects of the large‑scale violence that erupted in the city in September 2020.
The police argued that the evidence collected points to a coordinated conspiracy aimed at inciting communal clashes, and that the accused continue to pose a risk to public order. Accordingly, the police maintained that their detention under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act remains lawful and necessary.
The court will consider the police’s justification alongside the bail pleas, which claim that the detention is unwarranted. The case forms part of a broader investigation into the 2020 riots, which has involved multiple arrests and charges of sedition, unlawful assembly and conspiracy.
If the court upholds the police’s position, Khalid and Imam will remain in custody pending trial, a development that could influence the handling of similar high‑profile protest‑related cases across the country.
The police argued that the evidence collected points to a coordinated conspiracy aimed at inciting communal clashes, and that the accused continue to pose a risk to public order. Accordingly, the police maintained that their detention under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act remains lawful and necessary.
The court will consider the police’s justification alongside the bail pleas, which claim that the detention is unwarranted. The case forms part of a broader investigation into the 2020 riots, which has involved multiple arrests and charges of sedition, unlawful assembly and conspiracy.
If the court upholds the police’s position, Khalid and Imam will remain in custody pending trial, a development that could influence the handling of similar high‑profile protest‑related cases across the country.