Shots were fired upon Khalid, who escaped unharmed, outside one of the most high-security areas in the national capital.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This hate campaign against me has been going on for last two years. There is no evidence, only lies. There has been no charge-sheet, only media-trial. There are no arguments, only trolling. There has been no debate, only death threats: JNU’s Umar Khalid
A day after an unidentified man allegedly tried to shoot him outside the Constitution Club of India, JNU student leader Umar Khalid held BJP spokespersons and several prime-time anchors and TV channels responsible for the attack. He, however, did not take any name.
In a Facebook post, Khalid wrote, “The real culprits are those spokespersons of the ruling party and the prime time anchors and TV channels who have spread canards about me, branded me anti-national based on lies and virtually incited a lynch-mob against me. This has specifically made my life extremely vulnerable.”
On Monday, shots were fired upon Khalid outside one of the most high-security areas in the national capital just two days ahead of the Independence Day celebration. Khalid had just arrived at the Constitution Club of India near Parliament to attend an event titled ‘Khauf se Azadi: Towards Freedom Without Fear’.
“The fact that two days before Independence Day, in one of the most “High Security” zones of the national capital, an armed assailant could dare to attack me in broad daylight only goes onto show the brazen impunity that some people feel they enjoy under the present regime.”
Khalid had in June requested for police protection from the Delhi Police citing threat to his life, Following the attack on Monday, Khalid again wrote to the police: “I want to state that there is a continuous threat to my life and limb. This has increased after today’s attempt on my life. I urge you to please take cognizance of this and provide me police security.”
While the Delhi Police officials say they were unable to meet Khalid after his letter seeking protection, Khalid added, “In the last two years, I have demanded police protection twice from the Delhi Police, but only to be met with a callous response.”
“This hate campaign against me has been going on for last two years. There is no evidence, only lies. There has been no charge-sheet, only media-trial. There are no arguments, only trolling. There has been no debate, only death threats. And today it has all come down to a gun,” Khalid wrote over the intense media scrutiny he has faced since he was accused of allegedly raising anti-India slogans in the JNU premise.
Police have recovered CCTV footage of the attacker from a camera installed at the RBI building across the road and said he had dropped the gun as he escaped. Police sources said that the gun found outside Constitution Club appeared to be a 7.65 mm country-made pistol and that it had been sent to the FSL to determine if it had been fired.
Khalid, along with former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, was arrested on sedition charges in 2016 in connection with the February 9 event on the JNU campus. All three are currently out on bail.
