The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed before the Supreme Court the bail petitions of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Shifa-ur-Rehman, in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, maintaining that the offences stemmed from a deliberate and coordinated conspiracy aimed at “destabilising the State”.

In an affidavit, the police described the riots as a “deep-rooted, premeditated, and orchestrated conspiracy,” asserting that they were timed to coincide with the visit of the then US President Donald Trump to India. The timing, it said, was intended “to attract international media attention” and portray the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as an instrument of persecution against the Muslim community.

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“The materials on record, including chats referencing US Pr

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