Clarion India
NEW DELHI— Sharjeel Usmani, a student of Aligarh Muslim University and anti-CAA activist was arrested today. He was reportedly picked up by Crime Branch in his hometown of Azamgarh in UP and is currently being kept there. It is not clear under what charges he has been arrested.
Reports reaching Delhi suggest that five people in plain dress and claiming to be from Crime Branch detained him from his home. Apparently they did not show any warrant nor gave any arrest memo or otherwise, reports suggest.
“AMU Student activist Sharjeel Usmani (@Sharjeel Usmani) has been picked up men claiming to be from Uppolice Crime Branch. We demand his immediate release,” wrote AMU Student Collective in a Tweeted.
Reports say Usmani’s laptop, mobile and books were also taken. Detention of a person by police not wearing visible identity tags carrying name and designation, and failure to provide copy of arrest memo as well as immediate information to a family member or friends, violates the law on arrest laid down by the Supreme Court and in various sections of the the Crimimal Procedure Code.
It must be noted that Sharjeel Usmani was an active participant of the protests against CAA-NRC at AMU. He was also an outspoken critic of the government and was recently the target of pro-BJP trolls online. Opindia, a pro-BJP website, had run two articles in recent months targeting Sharjeel Usmani for his ‘anti-national’ views.
Labeed Shafi, President of Students Islamic Organisation of India, said that “This is another brazen attempt by police to silence a brave young voice that was speaking out against the unconstitutional and discriminatory CAA-NRC. We firmly stand by Sharjeel and demand his immediate release.”
