Unmistakable Delhi anti-Hindu riot connection to ‘anti pollution’ protest: How org linked to UAPA accused, Prashant Bhushan spearheaded pro-Hidma protest

On 24th November, Patiala House Court sent five accused who pepper sprayed police during anti-pollution protests to two-day judicial custody. One accused has been sent to a juvenile safe house as he claimed to be a minor. The accused will stay in juvenile custody till his age is verified.

#UPDATE | Patiala House Court remanded 5 accused in 2 days' judicial custody. The court has asked the police to file a copy of the videos in the court. The court has asked to send one accused to a safe house till his age is verified, as he has claimed to be a minor. https://t.co/Tx6x6mwsfV

— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2025

The protesters were raising slogans commemorating one of India’s most wanted Naxals, Madvi Hidma, who was recently killed in an anti-Naxal operation. When the police tried to stop them, the protesters sprayed pepper spray on the police personnel, injuring them. Two FIRs have been filed against 22 attackers. Six have already been arrested and police are investigating the matter to identify the other accused.

The protest was spearheaded by Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM). During our investigation into the group, we found that it is part of Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) which is a collective of 38 left-leaning organisations including bsCEM, AIRSO, AISA, AISF, APCR, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, CEM, CRPP, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telengana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Jan Shakti, Progressive Lawyers Association, Mazdoor Adhikar Sanghthan, Mazdoor Patrika, Morcha Patrika, NAPM, Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajvadi Jan Parishad, Samajvadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samajvadi Manch, SFI, United Against Hate, United Peace Alliance, WSS, and Y4S.

While OpIndia is digging into CASR, we noticed two names that appeared as speakers in several press conferences organised by the collective, that are, Safoora Zargar and Asif Iqbal Tanha. These names shined among others because these two are among the accused in the larger conspiracy case in the anti-Hindu riots of 2020.

On 30th December 2020, CASR announced that there would be a press conference on 5th January 2025 with six speakers, out of which two were Safoora and Tanha. The press meeting was organised to condemn the National Investigation Agency (NIA) case commonly known as the Lucknow Conspiracy Case which the agency filed in June 2023 to probe the attempts to revive CPI (Maoist), a banned Naxal outfit.

According to media reports, the case revolved around the attempts at revival of the banned outfit by the members, sympathisers and overground workers associated with it. They reportedly were trying to regain influence in the Northern Regional Bureau (NRB) that includes states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Safoora, during the press conference, claimed that the conspiracy cases against so-called activists were an attempt by the central government to suppress dissent and called them limitless blackholes. On the other hand, Tanha called for sustained and fearless resistance against the systematic oppression.

While their statements during the press conference were linked to the arrests of so-called activists that were trying to revive a banned Naxal outfit, it is essential to recall their role in the anti-Hindu Delhi riots.

Who is Safoora Zargar and her role in Delhi riots

Safoora Zargar is one of the accused in Larger Conspiracy Case in anti-Hindu riots of 2020. She was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for her alleged role in the conspiracy that led to the Delhi Riots in February 2020. She was arrested in April 2020. The Delhi Police had claimed that she was part of the conspiracy to “destroy, destabilize and disintegrate the Government of India in order to compel to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the alleged National Register of Citizens.”

The Delhi High Court granted bail to Safoora Zargar in the Delhi Riots case in June 2020 on humanitarian grounds. After the Central Government said that it had no objections to her release, bail was granted. A regular bail was granted to Safoora Zargar after furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000 on the condition that she will not leave the territory of Delhi without the permission of the Court and will not hamper the investigation.

Who is Asif Iqbal Tanha and his role in Delhi riots

Asif, a Jamia Millia Islamia student and member of the Student Islamist Organization (SIO) since 2014, was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in May for purportedly being a part of a larger conspiracy behind the February riots in northeast Delhi.

In fact, Asif Iqbal had admitted to orchestrating riots and a march of 2500-3000 people from Gate no.7 of Jamia Millia Islamia on December 12. He revealed that Sharjeel Imam gave a provocative speech to encourage ‘protestors’ to execute a ‘chakka jam’ on December 13.

Asif confessed to organising a ‘Gandhi peace march’ on December 15 from the Jamia metro station to the Parliament via Zakir Nagar and Batla House. He stated that the purpose of naming it after Mahatma Gandhi was to lure more people into joining the march. Reportedly, the Delhi police had set up barricades near the Surya Hotel to prevent the ‘protestors’ from surging forward. Asif Iqbal confessed to provoking people to break through the police barricades under the impression that the cops lacked the ‘guts’ to stop them.

However, his plans did not succeed as the police soon resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the unruly mob. The Jamia students then resorted to stone pelting, setting buses on fire, and creating mayhem on the streets of Delhi. As such, both the policemen and the ‘protestors’ were injured during the course of the march.

Asif Iqbal further admitted that he delivered provocative speeches at several places in the country, including Kolkata, Kota, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ujjain, Indore, Jaipur, Patna, Sabzibagh, Araria, Samastipur, Ahmedabad. Reportedly, he urged common Muslims to protest against the Indian and not to shy away from engaging in violence if such a need arose.

Asif added that JNU activist Umar Khalid had suggested the idea of blocking roads and disrupting traffic during the visit of US President Donald Trump to India. The plan of action was then executed by the likes of Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, which later culminated into violent riots. Besides his desire to turn India into an Islamic country, he considered the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as anti-Muslim and therefore joined the students of Jamia Milia Islamia in opposing it.

About CASR

As mentioned above, CASR is a collective of 38 left-leaning organisations. OpIndia traced its origin back to November 2022 when they first posted about a public meeting in support of Naxalites including GN Saibaba, Hem Mishra, Prashant Rahi, Mahesh Tikri and Vijay Tikri.

The public meeting was held on 5th December and interestingly, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha and CPI’s General Secretary D Raja were among the speakers.

Not to forget, Prashant Bhushan is closely linked to the anti-Hindu Delhi riots of 2020 as the secret meeting mentioned in the larger conspiracy case in Delhi riots was held at an address linked to him. Prashant Bhushan is also linked to the so-called anti-pollution protests where pro-Naxal left-leaning protesters raised slogans remembering Madvi Hidma.

In recent times, CASR has condemned the raids on Kashmir Times where security forces recovered ammunition.

They also condemned the killing of Madvi Hidma by security forces in anti-Naxal operations.

It is alarming to see how these organisations and individuals, several of whom have been booked under UAPA or linked to cases involving Naxal revival and the anti-Hindu Delhi riots, appear repeatedly within the same networks. The overlapping roles, shared platforms and coordinated activism raise serious concerns that warrant a deeper and more comprehensive probe. A thorough investigation is essential to understand the extent of these linkages and to ensure that such networks do not undermine national security under the guise of dissent.