JNU student and anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam being taken to court in Delhi. (Express)

A Delhi court on Monday extended JNU PhD student Sharjeel Imam’s police custody by three days. The police sought further custody on the ground that they want to verify whether Imam was delivering the “inflammatory and instigating speeches” against the government on the issue of CAA and NRC “under guidance of enemy country/countries”.

Imam, 31, was arrested from Kako village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district on January 28 and brought to Delhi on transit remand.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Purshotam Pathak had sent him to five-day police custody on January 29. On expiry of the earlier remand, the police sought further custody on the ground that Imam’s custody was needed “to unearth the in-depth conspiracy and his association with any separatist groups/organisation and connect the chain of financial transactions, if any.”

CMM Pathak passed the order granting three-day police custody after Imam was produced at the CMM’s residence adjacent to Saket district court.

In its January 29 remand application, while seeking six-day custodial interrogation, Delhi Police had stated that “details of bank transaction are to be identified and analysed to ascertain the conspiracy of funding or organising such gatherings.”

Crime Branch has booked Imam under IPC Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).

During investigation, the police said they raided Imam’s rented apartment in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. They found several pamphlets from his house — some allegedly containing what the police say are false information on CAA and NRC. The police have said that one of the pamphlets stated, “Thousands of Muslim youth are ready to disrupt Delhi which will give international media attention to our issue.”

The police said Imam had distributed these pamphlets at several mosques.

The police have sent notices to 15 others connected to Imam’s WhatsApp group.

Imam was a volunteer at the Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi until January 2. Besides Delhi, police in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have booked him for sedition.

As per police, Imam continuously delivered inflammatory and instigating speeches against the government on the issues of CAA and NRC. It was alleged that his speeches were “also communal in nature, which could cause serious communal strife and promote enmity between various religious groups under the garb of protest against CAA and NRC”.

As per the remand application, Imam has previously spoken in area under Jamia police station’s jurisdiction on December 12, 2019, regarding his opposition to CAA and NRC. “This speech has been widely circulated on social media. Subsequent to his speech in Jamia wide spread arson and violence took place in Delhi on December 15, 16 and 20 last year,” the police have said.

The police also said that another speech of the accused was uploaded on Twitter, through the handle “Indian Military Updates”, and through a website called “Indiandefencenews.info”, in which he is seen and heard addressing a gathering of unknown people at unknown location.

“(The) accused, by way of his speeches, is addressing a particular religious section of the society and is instigating it against the government of the day by creating unfounded fears in their mind regarding CAA and the process of NRC, which is yet to be implemented in any manner through the country barring Assam. Further, by way of his speech he is also spreading falsehood about genocide in Assam. He, through his speeches, is instigating a particular religious section of the society to disrupt/block the access to North-East region of India from the Central India at ‘Chicken Neck’,” the police submitted before the court.

The earlier remand was sought to “unearth the whole conspiracy and motives behind the such speeches. To ascertain/verify the steps, if any, taken by him to execute the threats extended in the speech”.

The police also want to “establish his role in recent riots occurred after his inflammatory speeches. For identification of co-accused persons involved with the accused in spreading such speeches. To know the motive of such speeches, collect the electronic and other evidences…”

📢 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines