CAA Protests Leader, Sharjeel Imam On The Run As Police Intensify Hunt

Aligarh police, in coordination with teams from Delhi and Bihar police, are hunting for Sharjeel Imam, believed to be the mastermind behind the Shaheen Bagh anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Delhi. UP police have booked cases of sedition against the Ph.D scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University JNU, in the national capital.

In a video which has gone viral, Sharjeel is seen telling a group that Assam should be cut off from the mainland country because of the "atrocities on Muslims" in the state. In another video he is seen calling for a blockade of North India by Muslims and inciting members of the community saying they are a large enough social group to do so.

Meanwhile, Sharjeel Imam is reported to have gone underground. Delhi police in coordination with Aligarh police and Bihar police are said to be looking for him and are questioning his brothers in Jehanabad in Bihar.

Sharjeel Imam is a computer science graduate from IIT Bombay and pursuing his Ph.D in modern history from JNU.

A statement released by the protesters at Shaheen Bagh however, clarified that Sharjeel Imam was not the leader of the 44-day-old demonstration as of Monday. Observers say that though Shaheen Bagh residents demonstrating against CAA are now appearing to distance themselves from the JNU Ph. D scholar, he headed the coordination committee of the Shaheen Bagh protests earlier.

Sharjeel Imam's remarks have evoked widespread outrage and have also prompted state governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to charge him with sedition.