Activist Sharjeel Imam on Thursday told a court that Delhi Police’s allegations that Umar Khalid, a co-accused in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots, is his mentor and guru are false, Bar and Bench reported.

The submission was made before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts, who is hearing arguments on the framing of charges in the case.

Imam said that he never spoke with Khalid during the five years they studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Live Law reported.

The activists were arrested between January 2020 and September 2020 in connection with the communal violence that broke out in North East Delhi in February 2020 between supporters of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it. The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.

The accused were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The police have claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame the Narendra Modi government and was planned by those who organised the protests against the amended Citizenship Act.

On Thursday, Imam’s counsel told the court that there is no connection between his client and Khalid.

“In my five years at JNU, I never spoke to Umar Khalid,” Imam submitted. “I don’t know what coordination they [the police] are talking about.”

To establish a conspiracy, it is necessary to show there had been an agreement between us, Imam argued. “But they have failed to show any agreement,” he said.

His counsel was quoted as having contested the allegation that Khalid had instructed Imam.

“There is only one meeting in which Umar and I are seen together,” Imam was quoted as having said. “But even the witness statement from that meeting shows that there was no discussion of violence.”

On Monday, the Supreme Court denied Imam and Khalid bail. However, the bench allowed the bail applications of five others accused in the matter, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Shadab Ahmed and Muhammad Saleem Khan.

Khalid and Imam can file bail applications after all protected witnesses are examined or after one year, the court said.

The bench argued that the two were “masterminds” and the material on record made out a “prima facie case” against them under the anti-terror law.

***Also read: ***Why SC denied bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam but awarded it to five other anti-CAA activists