A day after he was attacked by an unidentified gunman, JNU student Umar Khalid on Tuesday sought police protection as there was ‘continuous threat’ to his life.
He said that after seeing assassinations of one activist after the other in the last few years, he somehow knew that someday a gun would be turned on him.
Real culprits
Mr. Khalid said the real culprit was not the unidentified gunman but those who ‘from their seats of power have been breeding an atmosphere of hatred, of bloodlust and fear’.
“The real culprits are those who have provided an atmosphere of complete impunity for assassins and mob lynchers. 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 mob against me. This has specifically made my life extremely vulnerable,” he said.
Mr. Khalid questioned as to how two days before the Independence Day when security had been strengthened, a man carrying a gun could so easily attack him in the heart of the Capital.
“The attack on me only goes on to show the brazen impunity that some people feel they enjoy under the present regime,” he said.
He questioned the meaning of “freedom” if the citizens of this country have to be ready to die for their “crime” of just being vocal against injustice.
Targets PM
In a tweet targeted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said he had a suggestion for the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech: “Can you guarantee that there will be no attack on those who criticise your government and its many failures?”
Mr. Khalid added that the hate campaign against him has been going on for the last two years but there has been no evidence, no chargesheet, and only media-trial.
“If they believe that with attacks like this they are going to scare us into silence, then they are gravely mistaken,” he said.
“In the last two years, I have demanded police protection twice from the Delhi Police, but only to be met with a callous response. I have received several threats and inciteful messages everyday on social media. After yesterday’s [August 13] incident, what is the Delhi Police waiting for?,” he said.
