Sharjeel made inflammatory pamphlet to mobilise crowd: Police

The "inflammatory" pamphlet recovered from the laptop of JNU research scholar Sharjeel Imam was made on December 3 to mobilise a crowd against the CAA and the NRC and was shared through WhatsApp, mail and messenger with groups of students of the Aligarh Muslim University and other varsities, an official said.

Imam, who was arrested on sedition charges from Bihar's Jehanabad district on January 28 after a four-day-long hunt and is in police custody, made these revelations during his questioning.

A senior Crime Branch official related to the probe told : "The pamphlet that we recovered from the laptop of Imam talking about Muslims being on the radar of the government and Muslims being killed in Assam.

"During questioning, Imam told us that he made the pamphlet on December 3 and it was circulated to the WhatsApp groups of the AMU and other universities."

He also claimed that Imam denied that he got the pamphlets printed.

The police officer further revealed that the pamphlet was first circulated on December 13 through Whatsapp.

"We are verifying the group members of three Whatsapp groups, email and Facebook messenger to whom these pamphlets were forwarded appealing the students to come and join the protest over the CAA and the NRC," the officer said.

In one of the pamphlets, a copy of which is with , Imam said: "The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed last week. This law is unconstitutional and intends to discriminate Muslim and put them in detention camps. It has started in Assam and will follow elsewhere.

"Muslims across India must reject the NRC and the CAA unitedly," it added.

On abrogation of Article 370, Ayodhya verdict and the CAA, Imam said: "There are more than enough grounds for a strong reaction from Muslims across India."

According to the source, Imam wanted international media attention and staged a protest to cause disturbances in Delhi.

In his pamphlet, written in English and Urdu, he wrote: "Assam has started burning and the people are being killed. But the role played by our religious and political leadership has also been disappointing. Thousands of Muslim youths are ready to disrupt Delhi, which will attract international media attention to our issue."

"The students of Jamia Millia Islamia have given a protest call from the Jamia Jama Masjid. We, Muslim students of JNU, request you to join the protest in large numbers and plan for a disruptive chakka jam," he appealed.

According to the official, Imam, "through this inflammatory pamphlet, was calling the people to come and join the anti-CAA and NRC protests as this was the appropriate time for the Muslims to give a befitting reply to the government".

The police officer also said that they are trying to verify the people who received the pamphlets in bringing the crowd to the protest.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )