Mumbai Police Allegedly Intervene to Stop Screening of Umar Khalid Documentary

Mumbai Police allegedly stopped the screening of a documentary on former JNU students’ union leader Umar Khalid by raiding the venue and pressuring organisers and venue managers, activists Shrishti Khanna and Prashant Pundir claimed.

The documentary, Prisoner No. 626710 Is Present, directed by filmmaker Lalit Vachani, was scheduled to be screened in Mumbai on September 19 in solidarity with Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been in custody since 2020 in connection with the northeast Delhi riots case.

In posts on social media, Khanna and Pundir alleged that police personnel in civilian clothes visited venues and pressured managers to cancel the screening. Khanna said the organisers’ second venue was visited first by personnel in civilian clothes and later by a police van. According to her, the venue manager was threatened and pressured before the screening was cancelled.

She further alleged that police personnel visited another well-known venue in Bandra that organisers had previously approached while exploring possible screening locations.

Pundir claimed the police had also raided the original venue even though the organisers had already announced that the screening had been cancelled there. He alleged that groups of people in civilian clothes remained around the venue to ensure that the documentary was not screened.

The documentary centres on Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University research scholar who was arrested in September 2020 in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the northeast Delhi riots. Khalid has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other provisions and has remained in custody since his arrest.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has opposed screenings of the documentary at various locations, stating that public exhibition of an uncertified film would violate the Cinematograph Act unless a specific exemption had been obtained.

The allegations by the activists and the CBFC's stated position form the backdrop to the cancelled Mumbai screening.