New Delhi

A Delhi court today sent JNUSU President and ultra left wing cadre Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested in a sedition case, to one day police custody after the prosecution said that he was needed to be confronted with the other two arrested JNU students and left wing cadre Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.

The court allowed the police plea seeking one day custody of the student leader, who was arrested on February 12 and sent to judicial custody five days later, a source said.

The police had applied for the production warrant of Kumar yesterday on the ground that he was needed to be confronted with the other two students in view of the discripencies in their statements regarding the controversial JNU event.

While opposing the plea, Kumar’s counsel, Bankim Kulshrestha, said that the police already had got five days’ custody of his client and it had sufficient time to interrogate him in the matter.

The counsel further said that there was no connection between Kumar and the other two students arrested in the case as they belong to different student wings.

The police had arrested Kumar on February 12, a day after a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy was registered at Vasant Kunj (North) Police Station in connection with an event in the varsity’s campus in which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

The case was registered on the basis of a video footage of the event obtained from a Hindi news channel.

While Kumar was arrested, at least five others including Khalid and Anirban went absconsing after the event. They resurfaced in JNU campus on Monday night and surrendered before police.

Khalid and Anirban were yesterday sent to three days’ police remand by a city court, after their midnight surrender and subsequent arrest in a case of sedition.

The police maintained “confidentiality” in the case proceedings in pursuance of an order by Delhi High Court.

The High Court had ordered to “maintain confidentiality” during the remand proceedings of Kumar, Umar and Anirban and directed the police to ensure that no one “suffers even a scratch” and there is no ruckus this time.

The High Court order came during the hearing on Kumar’s bail plea after it was informed that the student leader and two arrested co-accused – Umar and Anirban – were apprehending threat to their safety and security during production before Patiala House courts for remand proceedings.

Lawyers had allegedly assaulted Kumar when he was brought to Patiala House Court for remand proceedings, in defiance of an Supreme Court order. Two days earlier, when Kumar was to be brought to the court, the same set of lawyers had thrashed journalists and JNU students and teachers.

PTI