The Arunachal Police has registered a case against anti-CAA activist and JNU student Sharjeel Imam for the alleged ‘inflammatory’ speech that went viral on social media.
In a speech he had given at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16, he was heard saying that Assam should be cut off from the rest of India and taught a lesson by occupying the “Muslim-dominated Chicken’s Neck” (The Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal that connects North East to the rest of India), as Bengalis–both Hindu and Muslims are tried and put into detention centres.
Imam is booked under IPC sections 124A (an offence by words, either spoken or written causes disaffection against Government established by law), 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups with an intent to create disharmony) and 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration).
Dr. Navdeep Singh Brar, SP of Special Investigation Team (SIT) said that investigation is being taken up by the SIT.
The move comes a day after Assam and Uttar Pradesh police booked Imam for sedition charges for a speech that he had made against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16. The Assam police have also filed an FIR against Imam under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
UP and Delhi Police have started their search operation in different parts of the national capital to trace Imam. The Delhi Police today sent a team to Bihar, searching for Imam. His three relatives and a family driver were detained for four hours but were released later.
Imam’s late father Akbar Imam was a local JD(U) leader who had unsuccessfully contested an assembly election.