Delhi Police oppose bail, cite new video evidence linking accused to radical meet in India Gate case

The Delhi Police on Saturday strongly opposed bail for six accused in the India Gate protest case, telling a court that they have uncovered new video evidence allegedly linking the students to a radical Naxalite-affiliated organisation.

In a key submission before Judicial Magistrate First Class Aridaman Singh Cheema at Patiala House Courts, DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla stated, “There is video evidence on record which shows that some of the accused attended a conference of the Radical Students Union (RSU), held in Hyderabad on February 21 and 22.”

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He further claimed that multiple other videos are being retrieved from social media, allegedly showing the students’ links to and support for the Naxalite movement.

Arguing against bail, the police said they require custody to confront the accused with the newly discovered evidence. “We will need their police custody to confront them with the new evidence, and if released on bail, they might influence witnesses,” DCP Mahla told the court.

The prosecution also opposed the bail pleas, stating that the investigation remained at a nascent stage. Granting bail now, they argued, would prevent them from seeking police custody later if more evidence surfaced.

“We still need to establish who instructed them to make posters and on whose directions they raised slogans in support of Naxalite leader Madvi Hidma,” the prosecutor submitted.

Meanwhile, defence counsel for the accused argued that keeping the students in jail solely based on the investigating agency’s requirements would jeopardise their academic and career prospects. Advocate Abhinav Sekhri, representing one of the accused, Vishnu, contended that the police’s conspiracy theory was baseless.

“The police’s case of an alleged conspiracy behind the protest falls flat, as carrying a pepper spray does not necessarily mean an assault on police personnel was being planned… No one conspired to carry out any wrongdoing,” he told the court.

The court has adjourned the hearing to Monday and directed the police to file supplementary reports detailing the roles of each accused.

This development comes a day after the Delhi Police re-arrested eight students in a separate FIR, hours after they were granted bail in a case linked to the same protest. The students were subsequently sent to seven days’ judicial custody.

The protest, held under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air, began as a sit-in at India Gate. Police alleged that the gathering was unauthorized and that participants turned confrontational when officials attempted to disperse the crowd.