Umar, Anirban remanded in 2-day police custody * Ashutosh grilled for close to 11 hours, released
As the court trials in the Jawaharlal Nehru University row continued on day 16, a court here extended the police custody of Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya by two more days. The two have been arrested for sedition in connection with an Afzal Guru event, held on campus on February 9, where apparently anti-national slogans were raised.
Khalid and Bhattacharya were earlier sent to three days' police custody on February 24, following their midnight surrender and subsequent arrest. JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar is already behind bars in Tihar Jail, again for sedition.
On Friday night, police had issued summons to three others – Rama Naga, Anant Prakash Narayan and Ashutosh Kumar – to join the interrogation. Ashutosh reported at the South Campus police station at 9 am on Saturday. He was interrogated individually and jointly for close to 11 hours before he was let go at 8 pm.
Ashutosh's lawyer Sarim Naved said, "The police conducted a thorough interrogation and let Ashutosh go. However, they have a right to recall him as and when they deem fit."
Meanwhile, Kanhaiya told a Supreme Court-appointed lawyers' probe panel that he was beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers' robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on February 17. "The police escorting me tried to save me but they were also beaten up," he said adding that in another instance when he was attacked, the police did not do anything.
The panel of six advocates – Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave, ADN Rao, Ajit Kumar Sinha and Haren Raval – had visited the Patiala House courts premises on February 17 after the apex court was informed that Kanhaiya was beaten up during his production before the magistrate.
After Kanhaiya narrated the incident to the panel inside the courtroom, Sibal called DCP Jatin Narwal and enquired from him about it.
"How did you allow the attack to take place inside court premises? Your men were there. What were they doing?," the panel members asked the DCP, to which Narwal said, "He came with the escort party and entered the room adjacent to the courtroom."
The panel members then called other police officials and asked them about the incident and they replied that the person who attacked Kanhaiya had claimed that he was his lawyer.
Case transferred to spl cell: Bassi
Delhi police commissioner BS Bassi said the sedition case in connection with the controversial JNU event has been transferred to the force's counter-terrorism unit special cell. "This is a special crime that needs specific investigation," said Bassi adding that it may take a couple of days before the special cell takes over the case.
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