Richa Chadha reacts to arrest of activists allegedly involved in CAA protests; says 'Komal Sharma hiding under invisibility cloak'

Bollywood actress Richa Chadha shared her views on the arrest of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student leader Farhan Zuberi for his alleged involvement in the December 15 violence on the varsity campus during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest.

Superintendent of police (SP) (city), Abhishek, said, "Zuberi was a wanted criminal and been remanded to judicial custody. Eleven cases are lodged against Zuberi at the Civil Lines police station."

Clashes had erupted on AMU campus on December 15 after rumours spread that two students had been shot in police firing on Jamia Millia Islamia campus in Delhi during anti-CAA protests.

During the clashes, students allegedly pelted stones at the police that later resorted to a lathi-charge and used water cannons, teargas and rubber bullets at the protesters.

Police had registered three FIRs and arrested 26 people, including seven AMU students. A day later, they were released on conditional bail.

Richa quoted her tweet with the news report and wrote, “But Komal Sharma is at large, hiding under an invisibility cloak.”

For those unversed, Komal Sharma is a student from Delhi University's Daulat Ram College and an ABVP member, who was identified as the 'masked woman' in the January 5-Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) violence.

The police has been criticised on social media for arresting several activists and students who protested in the CAA protests months ago.

Earlier, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, associated with Pinjra Tod, were sent to judicial custody till June 11 by Metropolitan Magistrate Kapil Kumar after the police said their further custody was not required for the investigation.

There were sufficient grounds for arrest of two women associated with ‘Pinjra Tod’ group, a collective of women students and alumni of colleges from across Delhi, a court said on Wednesday while sending them to judicial custody for 14 days in a case related to communal violence in north east Delhi.

Pinjra Tod (Break the Cage) was founded in 2015 with an aim to make hostels and paying guest accommodations less restrictive for women students.

In 2015, Jamia Millia Islamia University had issued a notice restricting female students to stay out after 8 pm.

When the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) questioned the Jamia administration on it, a group of women students decided to protest against the restrictions not only in Jamia but other universities in Delhi. Later named as Pinjra Tod, the group mobilised people around several issues faced by female residents of hostels and PGs.

They were arrested on May 23 in connection with a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Jaffrabad area in February. On Sunday, they were granted bail by the court in the case.

Moments after the judge passed the order, the Crime Branch of the Delhi police had moved an application seeking to interrogate them and formally arrest them in a separate case related to the violence. They had sought 14 days custody of the accused. The court had sent them to police custody for two days saying the investigation was at its initial stage.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.