JNU student Sharjeel Imam arrested by Delhi police

New Delhi, Jan 28 (HS): The JNU Student Sharjeel Imam has been arrested Tuesday in Bihar’s Jahanabad by a special team of Crime Branch of Delhi Police. Imam was wanted and had been booked for sedition by police of five states including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi for his speech on January 16 at Aligarh Muslim University.
Delhi Police Addl. PRO Anil Mittal said on Monday that raids were being oconducted in Mumbai, Patna and Delhi and at least five teams of the Crime branch of the Delhi Police have been deployed to arrest Sharjeel Imam.
Police said that the raids were conducted at his paternal village of Kako in Jehanabad district and detained three of his relatives for on Sunday for investigation.
During investigations, Imam’s mother, Afshan Raheemhas said that her son was only opposing the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “He is being framed but we have faith in law of the land,” his mother said to reporters in Jahanabad.
“My son is not a ‘chor or uchakka (thief or ruffian)’ to run from the police. The statements of my son have been distorted and selectively played by the media. He is being vilified and harassed,” she added.
In a video of the speech, Imam said, “If we have five lakh people with us, we can cut off the Northeast from India. If not permanently, for one or two months. Put rubble on tracks and roads…Assam aur India katke alag ho jaaye, tabhi ye humari baat sunenge (Once Assam is cut off, then only they will listen to us)…We can do that because the Chicken’s Neck corridor (connecting Northeast to rest of India) is dominated by Muslims.”
He also called for more roads in Delhi to be blocked, like at Shaheen Bagh, to put pressure on the government.