India News | Farmers' Protest Finds Mention During Hearing of Delhi Riots Case
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The demonstration during the farmers' protest to free several arrested activists, including JNU student Sharjeel Imam, came up for mention before a court here on Monday during the hearing of a case related to north east Delhi riots.
New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) The demonstration during the farmers' protest to free several arrested activists, including JNU student Sharjeel Imam, came up for mention before a court here on Monday during the hearing of a case related to north east Delhi riots.
During the hearing of a bail application of Devangana Kalita, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act) in a riots case, her counsel said just because the farmers' protests were demonstrating posters to free Sharjeel Imam, it did not mean that they (farmers) were part of the riots too.
The argument was made in response to the prosecution's claim that Kalita cannot take a stand now that she was not part of the conspiracy with Imam as she was part of the group Pinjra Tod and Pinjra Tod had tweeted in support of him.
Advocate Adit Pujari, appearing for Kalita, said, “A tweet of a civil society in support of Sharjeel Imam, cannot be part of a conspiracy against Kalita. There were posters to free Sharjeel Imam at the farmers' protests too. Are all those farmers also part of the riots? Surely not. Multiple people in a civil society have different views. That's the beauty of democracy.”
Also Read | Anna Hazare to Launch ‘Hunger Strike’ if Central Govt Fails to Resolve Farmers’ Issues.
Imam has been arrested under the UAPA for allegedly being part of a larger conspiracy in the riots.
At Delhi's Tikri border, posters of several activists who have been arrested across the country under the UAP Act were put up during the farmers' protest against the new farm laws.
The posters were put up to mark “Human Rights Day” on December 10.
Communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
Pinjra Tod (Break the Cage) was founded in 2015 with an aim to make hostels and paying guest accommodations less restrictive for women students.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)