By Shruti Kakkar
The Delhi Police on Tuesday opposed jailed student activist Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, alleging that he orchestrated the round-the-clock protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by involving members of Islamist political organisations, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JeIH), and the proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI).
Special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad, representing the Delhi Police, told the Delhi high court that the Shaheen Bagh protest was Imam’s “brainchild” and was organised despite resistance from locals. “He [Imam] formulated the Shaheen Bagh protest site… The local people were not supporting it. There is a contemporaneous record showing that people were not on the road on their own,” Prasad said.
According to Imam’s chargesheet filed in September 2020, the Delhi police had claimed that the Shaheen Bagh protest site was the first one based on the “Chakka Jam model” and part of a larger conspiracy that led to the February 2020 riots, which caused several deaths and injuries. Imam, along with others including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) youth leader Meeran Haider and Jamia student Gulfisha Fatima, has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly masterminding the riots.
On Tuesday, Prasad further alleged that Imam’s speeches during anti-CAA protests in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) incited violence and outlined a timeline for the conspiracy’s execution. “He called for organising a chakka jam in the capital and for cutting Assam from India, challenging the country’s sovereignty,” Prasad added.
Imam, who had earlier been granted bail in a sedition case, remains in custody due to the larger conspiracy case. During his previous hearings, Imam and his counsel had argued that his speeches did not advocate violence and that he was not part of meetings planning the riots.
Imam’s submissions were countered by Prasad, who claimed Imam’s speeches outlined a conspiracy, including organising a “Chakka Jam” and challenging India’s sovereignty. “Speeches of Sharjeel Imam decode the entire conspiracy… In the previous speech, he said that he will cut India from Assam from the chicken neck, here he is challenging the sovereignty of the country to implement the law,” Prasad had submitted.
The high court has scheduled the next hearing for February 12, with instructions for the prosecution to conclude its arguments.
This story was originally published in hindustantimes.com.
