The Delhi Police Special Cell have begun looking for two men who have claimed that they attacked Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid on Monday, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.
The two men have said that they will surrender at the house of Sikh revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha on Friday, the police said. In a video being circulated on messaging service WhatsApp, the men claimed: “By attacking Khalid we wanted to give a gift to the people on the occasion of Independence Day.”
They identified themselves as Sarvesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal and urged the police to not harass others.
Unidentified men outside the Constitution Club in New Delhi attacked Khalid on Monday. A gun was reportedly found at the scene of the attack, and witnesses claimed two shots were fired. Khalid escaped unhurt. The police said two attackers reportedly escaped the site. Investigators are trying to verify if Khalid was the target of the attack. The case was transferred to the Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday.
“If their claim found to be corroborative, they will be arrested,” a police officer from the Special Cell told The Indian Express, adding that they suspect the video was recorded either in Haryana or Punjab.
The police on Wednesday took Khalid to the spot to recreate the scene and recorded his statement.
Khalid shot into the limelight after an event at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University in February 2016 in which he and a few other students were accused of shouting “anti-national slogans”. The event was organised to commemorate the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged to death. Former president of JNU Students’ Union, Kanhaiya Kumar, was also accused along with Khalid.
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