On Friday, JNU student turned radical Islamist Sharjeel Imam, who is also a columnist with Left propaganda website The Wire, was sent to 14-day judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. He was earlier remanded to 4 days in custody that was later extended to more 4 days until February 24.
Sharjeel was brought to Guwahati from New Delhi on February 20 via the Brahmaputra Mail. He was greeted with slogans like “Sharjeel murdabad” by a horde of protestors. Besides Assam police, Arunachal Pradesh may also seek his remand. A crime branch source said, “Unless no other state police want his custody, he will be lodged here.”
The Guwahati City Police Crime Branch had booked him under sections 153 (A), 153 (B), 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). and 13(1)/18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Delhi police had earlier filed a charge sheet in court against Islamist Sharjeel Imam for instigating riots during the Anti-CAA protests at New Friends Colony near Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 15, 2019. He was arrested from Bihar on January 28 following his threat of “separating Assam and North East from India.”
The cops had mentioned Imam as an ‘instigator’ of the violent protests that had erupted on December 15. One of the Jamia Nagar violence accused, Furkhan, has reportedly claimed that he was provoked by Imam’s speeches.
While Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students levelled up their rants on January 16 shouting ‘Azaadi’ slogans and demanding the release of the Shaheen Bagh mastermind, Sharjeel Imam, the Patiala House court has handed over the radical Islamist’s custody to Assam Police on the strength of the production warrant.
Read: Delhi Police suspects foreign funding links in Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam’s bank accounts
Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had revealed that Islamist Sharjeel Imam has admitted during interrogation that he met Assam Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal at his Delhi residence prior to the anti-CAA protests which turned violent in the national capital.
Nevertheless, his Muslim supporters have been demanding his release. They have now painted Graffitis on Jamia walls demanding to free him. The poster apparently painted by one Meer Faisal has captioned: “Chakka Jam is not sedition”, and has a picture of the radical Islamist. It reads: “Sharjeel is the voice of dissent, you can’t silence it”.
