13-week-old video predicting ‘attack’ as diversion from ‘vote scam’ resurfaces after Delhi Blast
New Delhi: A 13-week-old Instagram video has gone viral after netizens linked it to the recent blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, which killed at least twelve people. The reel, originally posted nearly three months ago, appears to hint at a “major incident” that would divert attention from the alleged “vote scam” controversy in the country.
The video shows a man in a formal suit sitting pensively, with the text overlay: “When you realise something big is gonna happen in the country to overshadow the vote scam!” The clip has now crossed over 2.1 million views, drawing renewed attention amid heightened political and public tension following the Red Fort explosion.
The “vote scam” debate resurfaced last week when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission (EC) of colluding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to manipulate results in the Haryana Assembly elections. Gandhi alleged a “centralised operation” created over 25 lakh fake voters through duplicate entries and altered photographs. The EC, however, dismissed these claims as “baseless.”
Soon after the blast, social media users began revisiting the old reel, with many suggesting it “predicted” a distraction from ongoing controversies. Comments on the video reflected both shock and suspicion. One user wrote, “The silence scares me. They are plotting something big. I pray for the innocents.” Another said, “The BJP senses the ground slipping under its feet and is desperate.”
Other comments under the resurfaced video mentioned past national events such as “Terrorist attack, Demonetization, CAA, NRC,” with one user warning, “Attack hone wala hai 😢.” Some had even speculated earlier that any such incident could carry religious or communal undertones.
After the Delhi blast, the reel flooded with fresh comments like “3-month-old reel trending again! Not a proud moment but one of sorrow. Stay strong Delhi ❤️🩹” “Ho gaya...🔥 Blast in Delhi.” “Yeah, the Red Fort bomb blast as a distraction to get protests away too.” “Whenever there’s a bottleneck for BJP, they have insane plans like this… even Delhi CM must’ve known.”
Referring to similar instances, one user drew parallels with the Pahalgam attack, claiming it too coincided with Muslim protests over the Waqf Amendment Act.
Summing up the public sentiment, another commenter wrote, “How can the public be fans of a party like it’s an IPL team? They’re public servants treating us like pawns while filling their pockets.” The same user alleged that agencies like the EC and EDI were being misused, urging citizens to “wake up before it’s too late.”
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'Sharjeel Imam not a disciple of Umar Khalid,' his counsel tells court
New Delhi (PTI): The counsel for the jailed activist Sharjeel Imam told a court here on Thursday that Umar Khalid never mentored his client before the 2020 Delhi riots, and the prosecution's allegation that Imam was a disciple of Khalid was "absurd."
The submissions were made before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, who was hearing arguments on the charge against Imam, an accused in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case.
Counsels for Imam, Ahmad Ibrahim, and Talib Mustafa submitted before the court that, despite their client and Khalid being the students of the same varsity, Jawaharlal Nehru University, there was no direct or indirect communication between them.
"The allegations find no support from the materials relied upon by the prosecution. Rather, the applicant (Imam) never spoke to Umar Khalid. It is highly improbable and rather unbelievable that the applicant, who, as per the prosecution, was mentored by Umar Khalid, never had any calls or messages with him," Imam's counsel Mustafa said in the court.
He said both were added to two groups, the Muslim Students of JNU (MSJ) and the CAB TEAM, just because they were students of the same university.
Referring to the prosecution's allegation that Imam hatched a criminal conspiracy with the other accused persons to cause a 'chakka jam,' which was later escalated into violent riots, his counsel said that there was no evidence that showed that at any point in time Imam had any intention to incite violence.
"In none of the materials relied upon by the prosecution, including speeches. pamphlets, chats and Facebook posts of Imam, there is nothing which could even remotely suggest that the applicant at any point of time had any intention to incite violence," he said.
He also contended that the prosecution tried to create a narrative of religious extremism around Imam by conflating purported discussions of issues affecting a particular religious community.
"Notably, mere academic criticism of events perceived by the applicant to be against a community doesn't make one communal, much less an extremist," he said.
According to the prosecution, Imam, along with other MSJ members, participated in a protest called by Jamia Milia Islamia students, where allegedly pamphlets were distributed to incite communal feelings among the Muslim community and induce them to protest against the CAA.
"Nothing communal in the alleged pamphlet. Merely talks about the discriminatory nature of CAA and its possible consequence if implemented coupled with NRC (National Register of Citizens)," his counsel said, concluding his arguments.
The case pertains to the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi that left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
The violence erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Delhi Police has alleged that Imam was involved in deliberate mobilisation, radicalisation and preparation of ground conditions through organised chakka jams, blockage of arterial roads, and disruption of essential services.
He allegedly created and administered the WhatsApp group, Muslim Students of JNU, which functioned as a coordinating mechanism for mobilisation, identification of protest sites.
Police accused Imam of attending and participating in conspiratorial meetings in Jangpura, where the strategy of chakka jam and escalation of protests was discussed.
Imam's role was allegedly not geographically confined to Delhi and acted as a mobiliser and ideologue, as the appellant travelled to Aligarh and other locations, police said.
Police also accused Imam of playing a decisive role in the creation and sustenance of the Shaheen Bagh protest site, which evolved into a prolonged round-the-clock blockade of a major arterial road.
They alleged that the Imam's role was foundational and preparatory, and that liability for conspiracy does not require physical presence at the scene of violence once the plan has been set in motion.
