Raids conducted in Mumbai, Patna, Delhi to look for Sharjeel Imam: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police on Monday said it has conducted raids in Mumbai, Patna and Delhi to look for JNU student Sharjeel Imam and arrest him in connection with a controversial speech he made.

Five teams of Crime Branch have been deployed, police said.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Sunday booked Imam, the co-ordinator of Shaheen Bagh protests, for his controversial "cut off Assam from India" speech that he allegedly made a few days ago.

Imam has been slapped with charges of sedition and inciting enmity between communities under Sections 124A, 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Separately, a case has been registered against Imam by Uttar Pradesh Police for his controversial speech delivered during the students' protest at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Assam Police too registered an FIR against Imam for allegedly inciting people by making a provocative speech.

A series of videos have gone viral on social media in which Imam is heard saying: "If we all come together, then we can separate the Northeast from India. If we cannot do it permanently, then at least for one to two months, we can do this."

"It is our responsibility to cut Assam from India. When this happens, only then the government will listen to us," he is heard saying further in the video.