New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case related to alleged conspiracy behind the riots here in February 2020.

 "There is no merit in the bail appeal. Bail appeal is dismissed," said a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar.

Khalid, arrested by Delhi Police in September 2020, sought bail on grounds that he neither had any criminal role in the violence in the city's north-east area nor any conspiratorial connect with any other accused in the case.

The bail plea was opposed by the Delhi Police.

Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence had erupted during the protests against CAA and NRC.

Besides Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.

According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.

He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.

Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.

He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.

His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.

The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.

The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.

Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.