The Arunachal Pradesh police have followed their Assam counterparts in filing a case against Sharjeel Imam, an activist protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh, for “spewing venom” against the northeastern States.
Superintendent of Police of the Special Branch Navdeep Singh Brar said the case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Crime Branch police station in State capital Itangar on Sunday.
“We acted on inputs regarding the circulation of a viral video on social media platforms inciting secession of Assam and other northeastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh, from the rest of the country for creating communal disharmony and hampering the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of India,” he told The Hindu on Monday.
A special investigation team had taken up the case and the contents of the video would be sent to a forensic laboratory for collecting scientific evidence, he said. Efforts were on to track those who made, uploaded and circulated the video.
On Sunday, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted: “This kind of provocation inciting secession of Assam & other NE states... will not be tolerated.”
On January 25, the Assam police filed a sedition case against Mr. Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act read with relevant sections of the IPC. This followed Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement that a criminal case would be filed against him for “instigating people to cut off Assam for at least two-three months, if not forever”.
Mr. Imam, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University student, purportedly said Bengali Hindus and Muslims were being killed in Assam through the National Population Register and the CAA.
“We are going to ensure this person is punished. The people of the Northeast will not allow anybody to take Assam out of India. Assam is an integral part of India and will remain so,” Mr. Sarma said.
