Delhi riots: JNU PhD scholar Sharjeel Imam sent to 4-day police custody under UAPA

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Sharjeel Imam to four-day police custody in connection with the February Delhi riots case.

The Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday arrested Imam in connection with the riots under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He was brought back to the capital from Assam two days earlier on a production warrant.

The Delhi Police had moved an application for a five-day remand of Imam.

Additional Session Judge Amitabh Rawat allowed an application moved by Imam's counsel for two legal interviews with him in a period of five days, away from the hearing range of police officials.

During the court proceedings, Imam's lawyer Surbhi Dhar opposed the five-day custody sought and requested the court to grant it for a shorter time.

"The accused was in judicial custody for one month before the Delhi riots. Accordingly, there is limited information which can be sought from him; so five days in custody is not required."

Imam had come into the limelight for his alleged inflammatory speech at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13 and subsequently on January 16 at Aligarh Muslim University, where he allegedly threatened to "cut off" Assam and the rest of the Northeast from India.

Imam had backed his statements by insisting that Muslims in Assam are already being put in detention centres owing to the NRC already having been applied there. "We may come to know in 6-8 months that all Bengalis, irrespective of Hindus or Muslims, have been killed," Imam had said, adding, "It is our responsibility to cut Assam from India. When this will happen, only then the Centre will listen to us."

The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet on July 25 against Imam in connection with a case related to his alleged seditious speeches during the anti-citizenship amendment act protests.

The chargesheet, filed in Delhi's Patiala House court, had said that Imam openly defied the Constitution of India and called it a "fascist" document.

"He openly defied the Constitution and called it a 'fascist' document. In the name of opposing the CAA, he also openly propagated blocking the 'chicken neck' connecting the mainland-India with the northeast," the Delhi Police had said in the chargesheet.

The 600-page charge sheet was filed under several relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act including sedition, promoting enmity between groups, and spreading rumors, etc. Police said that he is accused of delivering seditious speeches and inciting a particular section of the community to indulge in unlawful activities, detrimental to the sovereignty and the integrity of the nation.

(With inputs from agencies)