IIT-B group slams sedition charge against its alumnus

A section of students, researchers and faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B), on Monday, came in support of their alumnus and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam and condemned the sedition charges filed against him.

IIT-Bombay for Justice, a collective of students, researchers and faculty opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), said it strongly condemned the charges filed against Imam. “We believe that all aspects of CAA-NPR-NRC must be discussed, so that we have more clarity on the subject. The fact that draconian sedition charges (124A) have been applied to threaten an assertive student, who rightly discussed the negative implications of Assam NRC, and NRC at large, is commendable,” they said in a statement.

Imam, on January 16, had allegedly said that if five lakh people came together, they could cut Northeast off India. While Imam has since clarified that he was speaking of road blockades, at least five states have filed sedition charges against him.