New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed in the Supreme Court bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Delhi, saying that they conspired to strike at the sovereignty and integrity of the country by a "regime change operation" executed under the guise of "peaceful protest".

Arguing that the alleged offences involved a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state which warrant "jail and not bail", the Delhi Police, in an affidavit filed on Thursday, said it has collected ocular, documentary and technical evidence against the accused showing their intrinsic, deep-rooted and fervent complicity in engineering nationwide riots on communal lines.

The bail pleas of Khalid, Imam and others are scheduled to come up for hearing before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria on Friday.

Khalid, Imam Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

"The conspiracy hatched, nurtured and executed by the petitioner was to strike at the very heart of the sovereignty and integrity of the country by destroying the communal harmony; instigating the crowd not only to abrogate public order but to instigate them to an extent of armed rebellion," the affidavit said.

The Delhi Police said the accused conspired to ignite communal tensions during the visit of US President Donald Trump to draw the attention of "international media" and to make the issue of CAA a global one.

"The materials on record, including the chats referencing US President Donald Trump, establish beyond doubt that the instant conspiracy was pre-planned to be executed at the time when the US president was to make an official visit to India.

"This was done so as to draw the attention of 'international media' and to make the issue of CAA a global issue by portraying it as an act of a pogrom of the Muslim community in India. The issue of CAA was carefully chosen as to serve as a 'radicalising catalyst' camouflaged in the name of 'peaceful protest'," it said.

The Delhi Police said evidence on record suggest that the instant conspiracy was sought to be replicated and executed pan India and in the offences which strike at the very root of integrity of India (UAPA offences), "Jail and not Bail" is the rule.

"The allegations against the petitioner are prima-facie true. The onus of refuting the said presumption rests with the petitioners which they have miserably failed to discharge. The bail in the present case, specifically in view of the extreme severe gravity of the offence cannot be granted only on the ground of delay for which the petitioner themselves are responsible," it added.

The Delhi Police also blamed them of deliberately delaying the trial and submitted that the conduct of the petitioners is riddled with brazen and blatant abuse of the process of law.

"The petitioners through their mala fide machinations have made every attempt available to them in the book to delay, derail and obfuscate the investigation and trial in the matter.

"The delay which has occurred in the commencement of trial is solely attributable to the petitioner. Both the Hon'ble High Court and the special court have given judicial findings after findings, elaborating, as to how the petitioners working in tandem have not allowed the charge to be framed in the matter," the affidavit said.

The Delhi Police said the "overarching argument" of the accused that there are more than 900 witnesses in the matter and hence, there is no likelihood of trial being concluded in the present case is ex-facie misleading.

"It is stated that a number of witnesses mentioned in the chargesheet are witnesses whose statements were on record. It is submitted that once the trial commences, the number of the said witnesses will be pruned accordingly.

"In the reasonable estimate of the respondent, there are only 100-150 witnesses which are material to prove the offence. Remaining are repetitive or technical witnesses whose examination can be completed in a very short period of time, provided that there is cooperation by accused in the trial proceedings," it said.

The top court on September 22 had issued notice to the Delhi Police and sought its response.

The activists have moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court order passed on September 2.

The high court denied bail to nine people, including Khalid and Imam, saying "conspiratorial" violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens could not be allowed.

Those who faced bail rejection besides Khalid and Imam are Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed.

The bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a different high court bench on September 2. PTI PKS PKS KSS KSS