Overview
- In a 177-page affidavit, police describe a coordinated plan to time the unrest with Donald Trump’s India visit to draw global attention, citing WhatsApp chats and other digital traces.
- The filing names Umar Khalid as the chief conspirator who mentored Sharjeel Imam, alleges a planned “chakka jam,” and cites ocular, documentary and technical evidence.
- Investigators say the conspiracy was intended to be replicated across states and link it to 53 deaths, hundreds of injuries and 753 FIRs in Delhi.
- Opposing bail, police invoke the UAPA’s higher threshold, assert that in such cases “jail and not bail” applies, and accuse the accused of delaying trial proceedings.
- Defence lawyers argue the case criminalises protest, stress prolonged pre-trial custody and contest any UAPA “terrorist act,” as a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria adjourns to November 3.