Sharjeel Imam, Controversial JNU Student Accused Of Sedition, Arrested In Bihar's Jehanabad

Sharjeel Imam was arrested by Delhi Police from Bihar's Jehanabad on TuesdayHe was booked for sedition charges for his inflammatory speechFIRs were lodged against Sharjeel Imam in five states

Imam was arrested by Delhi Police earlier in the day. (Image: Facebook)

New Delhi: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam, who has been booked for sedition charges after his alleged 'anti-national and inflammatory' speech, was arrested from Bihar's Jehanabad area on Tuesday. According to officials, Imam was arrested by Delhi Police earlier in the day, hours after his younger brother, Muzzamil Iman, was picked up for questioning. The PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked in sedition cases lodged across several states for alleged "inflammatory" speeches made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. While police say that the former JNU student was arrested on Tuesday evening, several on social media claim that Sharjeel Imam has surrendered to Delhi Police. "We have arrested Sharjeel Imam from Jehanabad," said Rajesh Deo, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch told news agency PTI. The force had deployed five teams to locate Imam, a resident of Bihar. Raids were conducted in Mumbai, Patna and Delhi. According to reports, sedition charges were lodged against Sharjeel in as many as five states and was arrested by Delhi police days after the controversial JNU student's hate speech went viral on various social media platforms. In the controversial remark, Sharjeel Imam had suggested Assam be cut off from mainland India. Latest Image of Sharjeel Imam After Being Arrested By Delhi Police Sharjeel Imam, who is said to be one of the organisers of the anti-CAA protest in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, in a video, is seen talking about splitting the northeast from India to block the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reacted to Sharjeel Imam's arrest saying that protests are one thing, but nobody can talk about country's disintegration. "Nobody should do anything that is not in the interest of the nation. The accusations and the arrest, court will decide on the matter," he said while speaking to reporters. Before Sharjeel Imam's arrest, Police officials were tight-lipped about the issue and Superintendent of Police, Jehanabad, Manish Kumar said, when approached with queries, "There are some developments taking place and we will give details at an appropriate time." WATCH REPORT | Truth Behind Shaheen Bagh's Mastermind Sharjeel Imam However, residents of Malik Tola locality in Kako police station area of the district, where Imams ancestral house is situated, claimed that a heavy police contingent had raided the premises at about 4 am from where they took into custody Muzammil Imam younger brother of the JNU research scholar and another person, who have been taken to an undisclosed destination for questioning. According to reports, the police had raided Imam's ancestral home on Sunday night after "help was sought by central agencies". Said to be in his early 30s, Sharjeel Imam has a degree from IIT Mumbai and later moved to Delhi for pursuing research at JNUs Centre for Historical Studies. The Delhi police claimed he had given an "inflammatory" speech earlier on the Jamia Milia Islamia campus and lodged an FIR against him in the national capital. Besides, another case was lodged under the stringent anti-terror law against him in Assam, taking cognisance of Imams remark that Assam could be "severed from India, even if for a few months" as a result of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). ALSO WATCH | The Students Who Want India Divided Police in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh had also lodged FIRs against the JNU scholar, over his speech in which he threatened to "cut off" Assam and the northeast from the rest of the country. His mother had appeared before the media and claimed that her son was "not a law-breaker and would surrender to the investigating agencies" and that he had been in favour of "calling off" the agitation at Shaheen Bagh, which has been in news for 24X7 protest, mostly by women.