New Delhi/Jehanabad, Jan 28 (PTI) Anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam was on Tuesday arrested by Delhi Police's crime branch from Bihar's Jehanabad in a sedition case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh, officials said.

They said police had questioned Imam's younger brother Muzzamil, and based on the information provided by him, Sharjeel Imam was nabbed in a joint operation by Bihar and Delhi police in afternoon near his ancestral house in Kako police station area.

Imam was later produced in court which granted the Delhi police his transit remand for 36 hours.

However, Imam, who was among the initial organisers of the protest against the amended citizenship law at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, claimed that he had surrendered before the police.

"I have surrendered to the Delhi Police on 28. 1. 2020 at 3 PM.

"I am ready and willing to to operate with the investigation. I have full faith in due process of law. My safety and security are now in the hand of Delhi Police. Let peace prevail," he tweeted.

Imam's lawyer Mishika Singh told PTI that he was willing to cooperate in the investigation.

The PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked on sedition and other charges in several states after purported videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were circulated on social media.

An FIR was registered against him by Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

"Two videos came to light, one was on December 13 at Jamia Milia Islamia and other was on January 16 at Aligarh, where it was noticed that Imam had delivered very inflammatory speeches in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens and such comments can potentially affect religious harmony and weaken the unity and integrity of the country," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said in Delhi.

During investigation, police said they saw Imam in a video on January 25 attending an anti-CAA rally in Bihar.

"The Crime Branch team was sent to Bihar on the same day. They were in touch with Patna and Jehanabad Police and were continuously conducting raids.

"On Monday, Imam's brother Muzzamil was interrogated. On the basis of the interrogation, information regarding Imam were obtained, following which he was apprehended around 2 pm on Tuesday," Deo said, adding he will be brought to the national capital and later produced in Saket Court.

The SIT of Crime Branch, which is also investigating three cases related to clashes on December 13 and December 15 in Delhi, will analyse if his speeches had played any role in inciting the violence, the police said.

Jehanabad Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar said Imam was arrested from a place in Kako police station area and produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate R K Rajak .

He was handed over to a Delhi police team on transit remand for 36 hours, he said. The officer did not disclose further details of the arrest.

Police had raided several places including Imam's ancestral home on Sunday but he evaded the dragnet.

He has also been booked by police in other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.

Imam's remarks have been cited by the BJP to target anti-CAA protesters and the parties backing them.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said Imam's speech was "more dangerous" than that of former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

"See his statement. Have you seen the video of (the speech of) Sharjeel?It is more dangerous than Kanhaiya Kumar's statement," he said.

"He (Sharjeel) is talking about cutting off the Chicken's Neck to sever Assam from India. Even seven generations would not be able to do that," Shah said at an event in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The Chicken's Neck is a narrow stretch of land of about 22 km in West Bengal that connects the northeastern states to the rest of India, with Nepal and Bangladesh lying on either side of the corridor.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the arrested student activist "ought to have an understanding of the country's Constitution and the law... if anybody talks about India's disintegration, who is going to accept this".

Kumar also stressed that people like Sharjeel were "exceptions" and did not represent "views held by a large section of people".

The chief minister said that Bihar police, which had been conducting raids at Imam's house and questioning his family members prior to his arrest on Tuesday, had helped the Delhi police.

Residents of Malik Tola locality in Kako police station area of the district, where Imams' ancestral house is situated, said that a heavy police contingent had raided the premises at about 4 am and picked by Muzammil Imam.

The police had raided Imam's ancestral home on Sunday night after "help was sought by central agencies".

In the video, Imam was heard saying: "If five lakh people are organised, we can cut off the northeast and India permanently. If not, at least for a month or half a month. Throw as much 'mawad' (variously described as pus or rubbish) on rail tracks and roads that it takes the Air Force one month to clear it.

"Cutting off Assam (from India) is our responsibility, only then they (the government) will listen to us. We know the condition of Muslims in Assam....they are being put into detention camps.,"

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Bombay, Imam had pursued research at the Centre for Historical Studies at the JNU.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)