PhD student at Jamia held for ‘inciting’ E. Delhi riots
The Delhi police special cell caught a 35-year-old Ph.D. scholar of Jamia Milia Islamia for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite communal riots in northeast Delhi.
The man, identified as Meeran Haider is also the president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Delhi youth wing. The police said Haider was called for interrogation at the Lodhi Road special cell office at 10 am Wednesday, and subsequently arrested.
RJD leader Manoj Jha, a Rajya Sabha MP, tweeted just after the arrest: “Delhi Police called him for investigation and then received orders from above and arrested Meeran Haider, who has been helping people during the coronavirus outbreak.”
The Jamia Coordination Committee has condemned the arrest.
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The Special Cell of the Delhi police has nabbed a 35-year-old scholar of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite communal riots in Northeast Delhi.
The man, identified as Meeran Haider, a PhD student at Jamia, is also the president of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) youth wing’s Delhi unit.
According to the police, on Wednesday at 10.00 am, Haider was called for interrogation by the Special Cell at its Lodhi Colony office and was subsequently arrested.
Just after the arrest,
Rajya Sabha MP and RJD leader Manoj Jha tweeted, “The Delhi police called him for investigation and then received orders from above and arrested Meeran Haider, who has been helping people during the coronavirus outbreak.”
The Chhatra RJD unit of JNU also demanded the release of Haider and said the police should become “people-friendly” and not scare people.
Meanwhile, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC), a group comprising students and alumni from the university, condemned the arrest and demanded his immediate release.
“The country is facing a massive health crisis.
However, the state machinery is busy harassing and framing student activists in false cases to suppress the voices of dissent,” said the members of JCC.
The JCC members further said that Haider was diligently working to provide ration to the needy during the lockdown.
“The JCC demands that he be immediately released as all charges against him are baseless,” they said.
In February, the Northeast part of the national capital was rocked with violence which claimed at least 53 lives and several got injured.