Bengaluru, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has urged the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru to cancel a proposed screening of filmmaker Lalit Vachani’s documentary on jailed activist Umar Khalid.
Titled Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, the documentary is scheduled to be screened at NLSIU on September 14 by the university’s student-run Law and Society Committee (Law Soc).
According to the organisers, the screening is being held in solidarity with Umar Khalid and marks six years since his arrest and imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots. The event is part of a wider series of solidarity screenings and gatherings being organised at various locations across the country.
The screening coincides with the anniversary of Khalid’s arrest and comes a day after Political Prisoners’ Day, observed in India on September 13.
Khalid, a former student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was arrested in September 2020 in connection with the Delhi riots case. He has been charged under the UAPA and other provisions, while the trial is yet to begin.
ABVP Bengaluru Secretary Abhinandan Mirji said the organisation strongly opposed the proposed screening and had submitted a formal complaint to the NLSIU administration seeking its cancellation. He said the university had not responded to the complaint.
ABVP said academic campuses should remain focused on education and national integrity rather than becoming platforms for political propaganda or the glorification of civil unrest.
Advocate Girish Bharadwaj has also written to NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy seeking cancellation of the screening.
Responding to the demand, Umar Khalid’s father, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, said his son had not been convicted by any court and described attempts to stop such programmes as “authoritarian”. He also questioned the prolonged custody of Khalid and other accused, noting that the trial had not begun even after six years.
Ilyas alleged that people associated with protests against the NRC and CAA had been linked to the Delhi riots and questioned the continued denial of bail. He said democratic discussions and programmes should continue at educational institutions, including JNU and other campuses.
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