Umar Khalid not my guru; no conspiracy with him during CAA protests: Sharjeel Imam to Delhi court

Activist Sharjeel Imam told a Delhi court on Thursday that the Delhi Police's allegations that Umar Khalid is his mentor and guru are totally false and the two never had any major interaction while they were studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). .Advocate Talib Mustafa appeared for Imam before the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts and stated that there is no connection between his client and Khalid.“In my five years at JNU, I never spoke to Umar Khalid. I don’t know what coordination they [Police] are talking about. To establish a conspiracy, it is necessary to show the agreement between us. But they have failed to show any agreement,” he said. The counsel stressed that the allegation that Khalid instructed Imam is also false. "There is only one meeting in which Umar and I are seen together. But even the witness statement from that meeting shows that there was no discussion of violence," he said. .Mustafa was making submissions in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. At present, the court is hearing arguments on framing of charge.The Delhi Police has accused Imam, Khalid and several others of being involved in terror activities and conspiring to commit violence during the Delhi riots of 2020.The prosecution has invoked the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the case..Today, Mustafa said that there were widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2020 and that while many of the accused were also agitating against the citizenship law, that does not mean there was a conspiracy.He further contended that Imam never espoused violent protests. "My chats, my pamphlets and my speeches... Their case is that I wanted violence, that I wanted the riots and the killing of people. But there is not discussion of any violence in any of my meetings. In fact, I have talked about non-violence," he said. Imam's counsel concluded his arguments in the case. The other accused are likely to start arguments in the case next week. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.