Anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam Arrested from Jehanabad Village

Speed Post News Network

Patna : JNU student Sharjeel Imam, an anti-CAA activist on the run after sedition charges were slapped against him for allegedly making inflammatory statements, was arrested from his native village Kako in Jehanabad District in Bihar on January 28, 2020. “Sharjeel Imam has been arrested from his village Kako in Jehanabad,” according to Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey said.

Sharjeel graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai,, was wanted by police of several states including Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Delhi. He had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies at the JNU. 

He was slapped with a sedition case after a video of his purported speech went viral on social media where he was heard speaking about “cutting off” Assam and the northeast from the rest of India.“If five lakh people are organised, we can cut off the northeast and India permanently. If not, at least for a month or half a month. Throw as much ‘mawad’ (variously described as pus or rubbish) on rail tracks and roads that it takes the Air Force one month to clear it. Cutting off Assam (from India) is our responsibility, only then they (the government) will listen to us. We know the condition of Muslims in Assam….they are being put into detention camps,” Sharjeel was allegedly shown saying in the video.

Earlier in the day, a brother of Sharjeel Imam was picked up by police in a fresh attempt to locate him. Police had also conducted raid at his ancestral home on January 26, 2020, but failed to locate him. He is likely to be produced before a court where police will seek his remand for questioning. It is not yet clear whether he will be questioned in Bihar or taken to the national capital.

Reacting to Sharjeel Imam’s arrest, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said people have the right to protest but nobody can talk about the country’s disintegration. Nitish said that police must have acted in accordance with law in arresting Imam and now the courts will take appropriate action.