Sharjeel Imam to be questioned by cops

Anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Bihar's Jehanabad in a sedition case, will be questioned by the police for the next five days in connection with his alleged inflammatory speeches at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here and in Aligarh, officials said on Wednesday.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amidst high security.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said they had been given Imam's five-day custody.

A senior police officer said Imam will be questioned over the next five days and shown excerpts of his speeches.

"We will also try to establish the sequence of events through his statement and find out who all were accompanying him at that time. If needed, others will also be questioned," the officer added.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.