20 February,2016 08:53 AM IST | | Agencies
The father and sister of Umar Khalid, one of the 10 JNU students accused of shouting “anti-national” slogans on the campus, yesterday said it is for the judiciary to decide whether he was involved in the case.
Umar Khalid
New Delhi: The father and sister of Umar Khalid, one of the 10 JNU students accused of shouting "anti-national" slogans on the campus, yesterday said it is for the judiciary to decide whether he was involved in the case.
Umar Khalid has been missing since the JNU row broke out.
Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said his son was fighting for the cause of tribals and poor farmers and that he has always stood with them. "If they were seditionist, it should be decided by the court. There should not be a media trial," he said.
Police is looking for Khalid, who is accused of shouting anti-India slogans during an event on February 9 at the JNU campus.
Umar, a former member of ultra-Left students outfit Democratic Students Union, has been missing since the JNU row broke out and police is on the look out for him.
'True son of India'
Khalid's sister, US-based PhD student Maryam Fatima said, "It is ridiculous to ask us if we think it (anti-India slogans) is okay - of course its not. But you have to dig deeper and see who was raising them. He is a true son of India," she said.
The family is "not in touch with" Umar since he went missing, Fatima said, and could last speak to him after his television interviews. "We are really worried for his safety," she said.
