The Assam Police said that the former JNU student and the alleged mastermind of Shaheen Bagh protest Sharjeel Imam will be brought to Assam after taking a production warrant against him.
Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta informed the media that the Assam police officer is part of the interrogation team of Imam and he will be brought to the state for trial in the sedition case registered against him.
Imam was on Tuesday arrested from Bihar’s Jahanabad by Delhi Police. Police of six states Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi had booked Imam under the relevant sections of the IPC for his alleged statement that Assam, Northeast should be cut off from the rest of India. He has been slapped with charges of sedition under Sections 124A, 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On Wednesday a Delhi court sent Imam to five-day custody under Delhi Police Crime Branch. He was brought to Delhi on transit remand after his arrest from Bihar.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, stated that Imam’s outcry might have some relevance with the December 11, 12 anti-CAA violence in Assam.
The Minister also added that the state police is analysing the information received from the Central Forensic Laboratory in relation to the role of the alleged radical group Popular Front of India (PFI) in the violence in the state.
It may be mentioned that separate case has been registered against Imam by the Uttar Pradesh Police for his controversial speech delivered at Aligarh Muslim University earlier this year during students’ protest against the CAA and NRC.
Several videos are doing rounds in the social media where Imam is heard making controversial statements saying that Muslims are in such numbers that they can cut out the entire Northeast from the rest of India “if not permanently than maybe for few months”.
In the video, Imam says, “If we have 5 lakh organised people then we can permanently cut North-east from India or at least for one-two month. Put so much (unclear) on the roads and tracks that they cannot even remove it for a month. It is our responsibility to isolate Assam from India, then only they will listen to our voice.”
Photo Credit: @SharjeelImam
