Sharjeel Imam has been arrested by the Delhi police in Bihar’s Jehanabad.
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Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam who was in the news for few days for his alleged unlawful remarks, has been arrested by the Delhi police in Bihar’s Jehanabad.
He is said to have been booked for sedition as well as under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police in at least five states had been on the lookout for him ever since a video of his speech in Aligarh went viral.
What Did Sharjeel Imam Do?
The entire controversy is regarding a speech Imam gave in Aligarh. A small excerpt of the speech was shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and some media channels, in which he can be heard saying that 5 lakh Muslims should get together and cut Assam off from the rest of India.
The speech is about 40 minutes long. And if one listens to the entire thing, it is quite clear that he is calling for a chakka jam or a blockade of the highways and railways leading to Assam. At no point does he talk about breaking away any part of India.
Sharjeel Imam had been involved in organizing the protests at Shaheen Bagh but came into limelight after a video clip went viral wherein he could be heard making some controversial comments while addressing a gathering at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), following which he was booked under sedition charges.
Delhi Police claimed he had given an “inflammatory” speech earlier on the Jamia Milia Islamia campus and lodged an FIR against him in the national capital.
Another case was lodged under the stringent anti-terror law against him in Assam, taking cognisance of Imams remark that Assam could be “severed from India, even if for a few months” as a result of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Sharjeel mother had appeared before the media and claimed that her son was “not a law-breaker and would surrender to the investigating agencies” and that he had been in favour of “calling off” the agitation at Shaheen Bagh, which has been in news for 24X7 protest, mostly by women.