Sharjeel Imam sent to 4-day police custody; shifted to Crime Branch in Guwahati

The Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate court has sent PhD scholar Sharjeel Imam to 4-day police custody. In the evening, he was brought to Guwahati, Assam from Delhi by train. Subsequently, the Guwahati police detained him at the Crime Branch in the Panbazar area.  

Imam was originally arrested from Bihar's Jehanabad district on January 28. After a brief spell in police custody, he was sent to jail. On Monday, the Delhi Crime Branch arrested Imam for the second time. According to the police, he is suspected to be involved in the December 15 Jamia violence that broke out during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. 

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'We have registered a case under the provisions of the UAPA'

Earlier in the day, Guwahati Police Commissioner MP Gupta spoke exclusively to Republic TV. He mentioned that a case had been registered against Imam based on his video exhorting people to cut off Assam from India. Furthermore, he stated that the police would seek Imam's custody for further investigation in the case registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. 

Guwahati Police Commissioner MP Gupta observed, "We have registered a case in the Crime Branch on the basis of a video we have received in which Sharjeel Imam has allegedly spoken about cutting off Assam and North East from the rest of India, inciting people to cut off this part from rest of India. On this basis, we have registered a case under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. We have obtained the production warrant from the court here."

Read: Sharjeel Imam To Be Booked Under NSA After Extension Of His Judicial Custody: Sources

Imam's shocking remarks

Sharjeel Imam was a key organizer of the Shaheen Bagh protests. His controversial remarks came to light on January 25 when BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra shared a video that featured him. In the video purportedly from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, he is heard saying that 5 lakh people can come together and permanently cut the North-East from India. Moreover, he stressed that this was the only way in which the Indian government would pay heed to the concerns of the protesters. 

In the video, Imam said, "If we have 5 lakh organized people then we can permanently cut north-east from India or at least for one month. Put so much (unclear) on the road that they cannot even remove it for a month. It is our responsibility to isolate Assam from India, then only they will listen to us."  

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