India, June 30 -- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday questioned why former JNU student leader Umar Khalid continues to remain behind bars without a trial. The Parliamentarian called Khalid's six years-long confinement in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots a "travesty of justice and a blot on our democracy".

His reaction came as Umar Khalid's interview with The Guardian was published in which the PhD scholar questioned the silence of Opposition parties. Sharing the interview-cum-analysis, Tharoor wrote, "This moving article on [Umar Khalid] in prison prompts a simple question: if he really has incited terrorism, why not prove it in a court of law?"

"Why deny him the basic right of any Indian citizen accused of a crime, the right to a...