‘Cut off Assam, chakka jam’: Delhi Police shows Sharjeel Imam's clips before Supreme Court during bail hearing
Sharjeel Imam has been in jail since 2020 and faces several charges, including sedition and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed the bail pleas sought by activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and other accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case, and argued before the Supreme Court that intellectuals involved in terrorism are more dangerous to society than those operating on the ground.
During the argument on the bail plea, the police also referred to the recent Red Fort blast, saying it had become a trend now for doctors and engineers to engage in anti-national activities.
Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, opposed the plea and showed the court a compilation of videos of Sharjeel Imam giving "inflammatory speeches" during the country-wide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
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Imam, a former student of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, has been in jail since 2020 and faces several charges, including sedition and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Imam, Khalid and others moved the apex court against the Delhi high court's September 2 order denying them bail. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria is hearing the matter. The hearing in the matter will continue on Friday afternoon.
What Sharjeel Imam said in the inflammatory videos?
The Delhi Police presented several videos before the court showing Imam giving speeches at Chakhand, Jamia, Aligarh, and Asansol in 2019 and 2020 before the February 2020 riots in Delhi.
SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi police, said that the video clips presented in the Court were part of the evidence in the chargesheet.
According to a report in India Today, in the first video of Imam, from a speech in Aligarh on January 16, 2020, he allegedly said that with 5 lakh people, “we can permanently cut off India and the North East. If not permanently, then at least a month or so”.
Imam also made references to "chicken’s neck" and said: "Scatter so much debris on the tracks that it takes at least a month to clear it. Go using the air force. It is our responsibility to cut off Assam. Cut all the supplies from here. We can stop it because the chicken neck belongs to Muslims". The chicken’s neck refers to the stretch of land in Siliguri district of West Bengal, bordering Nepal and Bangladesh.
ASG Raju told the court Sharjeel spoke about targeting the "chicken neck", that if the 16 km stretch were removed, the state of Assam would be separated from the country.
Sharjeel also spoke about the abrogation of Kashmir and about "Court ki nani yaad kara denge" for its decision on the Babri Masjid issue, Raju said.
In the next video from January 2020, Imam allegedly made references to Babri mosque issue, CAA and triple talaq. In another video, he is heard instigating the crowd to do a "chakka jam" not just in Delhi but the entire country while protesting against the CAA, according to India Today.
However, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Imam, said the videos presented by the Delhi police are only snippets of his three-hour-long speeches and intended to prejudice the case against the accused.
ASG Raju further said that the Imam's plans were timed to coincide with the visit of US President Donald Trump to attract international media attention.
