Police Raids Sharjeel Imam's Ancestral House, Detain 2 Of His Relatives

Hours after Delhi Police booked former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam for allegedly delivering inflammatory speeches against the amended Citizenship Act and the planned National Register of Citizens, the central agencies and local police raided his ancestral house in Kako town of Jehanabad District of Bihar. According to reports, the police have also detained three, including two of his relatives, for interrogation. Sharjeel Imam was not at his home when the police raided his house. The raid was conducted to arrest Imam as a case of sedition was lodged against him on Saturday for a speech he delivered on the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus on January 16.

A case under IPC sections 124 (offence by words, either spoken or written causes disaffection against the government), 153 (promoting enmity between different religious groups with an intent to create disharmony) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) has been registered against Imam.

“He had previously delivered one such speech in Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13 last year and thereafter one even more inflammatory against the government which is being widely circulated on social media,” they said. These speeches have the “potential to harm the religious harmony” and the unity and integrity of India, for which the case was registered against him, police said.

Imam, one of co-ordinators of the Shaheen Bagh protest, was heard saying in an audio clip that Assam should be cut off from the rest of India and taught a lesson, as Bengalis - both Hindus and Muslims - are being killed or put into detention centres. He reportedly said that if he can organise five lakh people, it would become possible to “permanently cut off Assam with rest of India...if not permanently, then at least for a few months”.

MP Asaduddin Owaisi Slams Sharjeel Imam's 'Cut Off Assam' Remark

Meanwhile, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has slammed Sharjeel Imam for his "cut off Assam" remark saying 'India was not a chicken's neck that can be broken or separated'.

Condemning his statement, Owaisi on Saturday said that 'no one can break India or any of its region'. "India is a nation and not a chicken's neck that can be separated or broken. I do not accept such statements. I condemn it," said Owaisi.