Imam was booked in sedition cases lodged across several states for his alleged “inflammatory” speeches, in which he threatened to “cut off” Assam and the northeast from the rest of the country, made during protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Imam, a PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Historical Studies, was one of the initial organisers of Shaheen Bagh protests.

Also, a case of sedition was lodged against him on Saturday for a speech he delivered on the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus on January 16. The Assam Police has also filed an FIR under the anti-terror law UAPA against Imam for his speech.

“We have arrested Sharjeel Imam from Jehanabad,” said Rajesh Deo, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch