PhD scholar arrested over Delhi riots
Sharjeel Imam, a student and a former co-organiser of a sit-in protest against a new citizenship law, speaks during his interview with Reuters in New Delhi, December 22, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) PhD scholar Sharjeel Imam, who was previously charged with sedition for inciting people, in connection with Northeast Delhi riots in February.
More than a dozen people were killed and hundreds injured in clashes between opposing groups of protesters in New Delhi over a new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The unrest, begun in December 2019, turned deadly as it overshadowed US President Donald Trump’s first visit to India.
Imam was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), reported The Indian Express and he was brought back to Delhi from Assam on Sunday on a production warrant.
Before being moved, Imam was already in custody in Guwahati Jail for a speech against CAA, stated the report, adding he also tested positive for Covid-19 on July 21.
Besides Delhi, police in UP, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have booked him on charges of sedition, according to the report. Earlier, he had been arrested in two cases of violence at Jamia on December 13 and 15, for instigating and abetting the riots by inflammatory speech.
On July 25, Delhi Police charged Imam with sedition before a Delhi court for allegedly inciting people to indulge in activities detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, reported NDTV.
In the charge sheet, Imam was accused of “inciting a particular section of community to indulge in unlawful activities”, stated the report.
“In the garb of protesting against the CAA, he exhorted people of a particular community to block the highways leading to the major cities and resort to 'Chakka Jam', thereby disrupting normal life,” it further said.
The report also alleged that Imam openly defied the Constitution and called it a "fascist" document.
Imam shot to national prominence when he helped to organise a mass sit-in in New Delhi, one of many rallies staged over more than a month against a new citizenship law that the protesters say discriminates against Muslims.
On January 28, he was arrested over a speech delivered at Aligarh Muslim University wherein he made comments that the ruling Hindu nationalist party were seditious.
The 31-year-old history student further angered nationalists in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with what they said was a seditious call for the restive northeastern region of Assam to be “cut” from the rest of the country.
WITH INPUT FROM APP