Attacks via social media still on: Umar

Police yet to provide security, he alleges

August 20, 2018 01:50 am | Updated 09:28 am IST - NEW DELHI

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 22/10/2016 : JNU student Umar Khalid interacting with The Hindu in Bengaluru on October 22, 2016.
Photo : Sudhakara Jain.

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 22/10/2016 : JNU student Umar Khalid interacting with The Hindu in Bengaluru on October 22, 2016. Photo : Sudhakara Jain.

Student activist Umar Khalid took to Twitter on Sunday to express how attacks on him via social media are still on and that the police were yet to provide security a week after he was attacked here.

Mr. Khalid tweeted, “When I said BJP created the situation which led to the attack on my life, this is what I mean. Not an anonymous troll, here is a BJP spokesperson, followed by PM, spreading hateful lies [sic].”

Police tagged

In response to a Twitter user calling him an “ISIS” agent, Mr. Khalid tagged the Delhi Police in a tweet and wrote: “u were scanning the hate I receive on social media. Here I make your task easier [sic].”

Speedy probe

The activist found support on the social networking site from several people who called for a speedy probe by the police.

Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar was among those who said, “Look at the ultimate audacity of the terrorists who made an attempt on Umar Khalid’s life. They have boasted about it in a video on WhatsApp. Gave an appointment to the police n didn’t turn up. So far, even after six days, police has done just nothing. Why ? [sic]”.

The development comes at a time when attacks on student activists are on the rise. Three All India Students’ Association activists were attacked by a group of men, one of whom had a gun, in the small hours of Sunday morning in Vijay Nagar.

In Bihar’s Motihari, a Jawaharlal Nehru University alumnus was beaten over a Facebook post in which he was critical of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Three applications

Mr. Khalid had earlier alleged that he had submitted three applications since the attack outside the Constitution Club here on August 13 but his requests for security were being “ignored” by the police. Responding to the allegation, a police officer said Mr. Khalid’s security assessment was still on.

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