The Assam police have registered a case against Sharjeel Imam, the alleged mastermind of the Shaheen Bagh protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and former Jawaharlal Nehru University student, for his “hate speech” against the State.
“An FIR has been filed at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station against him for his speech...under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, read with the relevant Sections of the IPC,” Additional DGP (Law and Order) G.P. Singh said on Saturday.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said the State decided to file a case against him on the basis of a video, in which he was heard “instigating people” to cut Assam off India.
The police in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, have registered an FIR against Mr. Imam for the speech at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16. In a video of the speech, he could be heard inciting Muslims to “cut off Assam from India” by occupying the “Muslim-dominated Chicken’s Neck”. The 22-km Siliguri Corridor, or Chicken’s Neck, in West Bengal connects the northeastern States to the rest of India.
(With inputs from Anuj Kumar in Ghaziabad)
