Published 18:40 IST, January 19th 2020
Shaheen Bagh organiser STUNG: 60-70 JNU students behind mustering support for protest
In an operation that brings to light hitherto unknown details of the anti-CAA protests in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, Republic TV has stung a protest organiser
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In an operation that brings to light hitherto unknown details of the anti-CAA protests in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, Republic TV has stung Shaheen Bagh Coordination Committee chief Sharjeel Imam, highlighting the truth behind the protest.
Republic TV's News Editor Amit Chaudhary spoke to protest organiser who claimed that around 60 to 70 students had distributed pamphlets around Delhi to organise the protests which began on December 14. The pamphlet-distribution took approximately 15 days.
Indicating the possibility that the protest was pre-planned and had organizational backing, Imam said, "We met on Thursday, 5 December and decided to distribute pamphlets about CAA on Friday. We got at least 10,000 to 15,000 pamphlets published and at least 60-70 students from JNU. Different teams covered Old Delhi, Seelampur, Okhla, I myself went to Nizamuddin. That is how it all began."
Republic TV's Investigation
Republic TV's investigation initially discovered a video of Imam on a Facebook group titled ‘Muslim Students of JNU’ on December 14. In the video, Imam is allegedly seen instigating minorities outside Jamia Millia Islamia University a day before the protests broke out. Following this, the sting was conducted.
Shaheen Bagh protests
The protests in Shaheen Bagh began on December 14 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). While the Shaheen Bagh Coordination Committee Chief Sharjeel Imam had called off the protests claiming that it had been hijacked by political parties, the protests continued with several inflammatory slogans being raised like 'Jinnah Wali Azadi'.
18:40 IST, January 19th 2020