A day after the police raided Shaheen bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam’s ancestral home in Bihar’s Kako and detained three of his relatives for questioning, Imam’s brother has now been detained. As per reports, the Jehanabad police have detained Imam’s brother, and two more family members for interrogation.
The detained individuals are reportedly being questioned in the Kako police station.
#NewsAlert – Sharjeel Imam’s brother and two more family members detained. Being questioned at Kako police station, Jehanabad in Bihar.@prabhakarjourno with details. #CitizenshipShowdown pic.twitter.com/jA0WlkgzWT
— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 28, 2020
Reports also say that the Delhi police, who have been haunting for Imam have conducted raids at Mumbai, Patna, and Delhi in search of him.
Imam’s mother reportedly lives in Patna. As per a BBC report, the family has political links and Imam’s father was a JDU leader in the Kako region and had also contested elections on a JDU ticket in 2005. After his demise, Imam’s brother Mujameel has been active in politics in the are and is also a JDU leader. Imam’s uncle Ashrad Imam is also a district-level leader of JDU.
Imam’s mother Afshan Raheem had stated to the media that the family is being ‘harassed’ by police. She had also defended her son, claiming that his statements were misrepresented.
A video clip had gone viral where Imam was heard making secessionist threats against the integrity and sovereignty of India. He had incited Muslims to rise and ‘cut off’ Assam and the North East from the rest of India.
Delhi Police had filed an FIR on Sunday against Imam, who is also a columnist with leftist propaganda website The Wire, under IPC section 153 for giving provocative statements with intent to cause riots.
Earlier, Assam Police had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Sharjeel Imam, said to be one of the organisers of the anti-citizenship law protest at Shaheen Bagh after videos of him calling for the state to be cut off from the rest of India surfaced online.
The UP police are also hunting for Imam for a speech made in Aligarh Muslim Univerisity. Currently, two teams of the Aligarh police are hunting for Imam.
Manipur police had also filed an FIR against Imam under sections 121/121-A/124-A/ 120-B /153 IPC. Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu had also informed that Imam has been booked under 124(A), 153 (A) and 153 (B) of the IPC.
