New Delhi, 17th June 2021: The Karkardooma Court has ordered the immediate release of Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal. The court dismissed the petition of the Delhi Police. It is noteworthy that Delhi Police had sought time till June 21 for verification from the court. Warrants have been sent for the release of these three in Tihar Jail.

It is worth noting that earlier, on June 15, the Delhi High Court had granted bail to Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Jamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Delhi riots case. They were arrested last year under the UAPA Act in the North-East Delhi violence case. While granting them bail, the HC had said, ‘Protesting is not terrorism.’ The bail has been granted on the ground that they will surrender their passport and will not indulge in any illegal activity which may in any way affect the investigation.

Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita are members of Delhi-based women’s rights group ‘Pinjra Tod’, while Asif is a student of Jamia Millia Islamia. Significantly, in February 2020, more than 50 people died in the violence in Delhi. Several shops were torched and public property was damaged during the violence. The violence took place over the citizenship law. Natasha Narwal was granted interim bail last month for three weeks after the funeral of her father Mahavir Narwal. Mahavir was a senior member of the Communist Party and died due to a coronavirus infection. She returned to jail on May 31.
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