“Fear in the country”: says Umar Khalid of JNU who escaped a shooting attack.

NEW DELHI: On Monday afternoon Umar Khalid the student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was shot by an anonymous man outside the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.

However, Umar Khalid managed to escape without any injuries. Khalid was at the venue to attend an event titled 'Khauff Se Azaadi', organised by an organisation named 'United Against Hate'.

Talking to the reporters after being attacked, Khalid said, "There is an atmosphere of fear in the country, and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened."

An eyewitness, who was accompanying Umar Khalid, said, "We were at a tea stall when a man in a white shirt came from behind, pushed and opened fire at him. Khalid lost his balance, fell down and bullet missed him. We tried to catch the man. He fired aerial shots. The pistol slipped off his hand and he fled."

Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi, Ajay Chaudhary said a man attacked Umar Khalid from behind while he was having tea with friends. “Khalid fell, but is safe. We are investigating what happened,” he said.

DCP Madhur Verma said they are verifying the attack. “Somebody pounced on Khalid and pushed him… then tried to fire at Khalid. But he couldn’t shoot immediately. People started chasing him. Khalid has said the man then fired in the air,” Verma said.

Umar Khalid first shot to fame (or infamy) on February 9, 2016 when he organised a protest against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.The protest was organised inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Pursuing his doctorate in the JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies, Khalid recently claimed that the university was not allowing him to submit his theses. The university said he had not completed formalities that resulted from the sedition charge.