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A court here on Friday turned down the bail plea of United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi in a UAPA case in connection with an alleged larger conspiracy behind the northeast Delhi riots of 2020.
Rejecting the bail application, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said: "I am of the opinion that allegations against the accused Khalid Saifi are prima facie true." Saifi's counsel Rebecca John, argued that he has been falsely implicated in this case and the entire case of the prosecution is unsubstantiated without any evidence to link with the communal riots of 2020. She also argued that other than the 'bald' statement made in the supplementary charge sheet, there was no evidence to show that Khalid Saifi met former JNU student Umar Khalid, another accused in the larger conspiracy case in December 2019, or Khalid gave him any direction to raise a protest site at Khureji. Opposing John's arguments, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad said that there is sufficient material on record to establish that the accusation against Khalid Saifi is prima facie true and hence the bail application may be dismissed. Prasad further said the protests were not just about CAA or NRC but to embarrass the government and to take such steps that it get gets highlighted in the international media. After the detailed submissions, Saifi has been denied the bail. --IANS jw/pgh ( 242 Words) 2022-04-08-23:18:09 (IANS)
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