Jamia Coordination Committee member Shafir Rehman arrested under UAPA for conspiracy during Delhi riots

PTI photo

New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police probing Delhi riots arrested a member of Jamia Coordination Committee, a group comprising students and alumni from the varsity, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Shifa-Ur Rehman, who also happens to be a member of Jamia Alumni Association, has been accused of alleged conspiracy in the communal violence that rocked the northeast district of the national capital in February this year. She was arrested by the police on Sunday (April 26) and was produced in a court on Monday which remanded him in police custody for 10 days for further interrogation.

"We had technical evidence against him which suggests that he incited mobs during the riots. He was also seen in the CCTV footage which was collected from the riot-affected areas. We have checked his call record details and WhatsApp messages and found more evidence which suggests his involvement in the riots," a senior police officer told PTI. 

Earlier on April 21, the police had charged Jamia Milia Islamia students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar under the stringent UAPA. While Zargar is the media coordinator of Jamia Coordination Committee, Haider is a member of the committee. 

Till now at least nine persons have been arrested by Delhi Police under UAPA in Delhi riots case. Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid is also under the scanner of the police in connection with the riots, however, it remains unclear if he has been charged under the UAPA.

In the FIR, police have claimed that the communal violence was a premeditated conspiracy which was allegedly hatched by former JNU student leader Umar Khalid and two others.

Communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.