Delhi Court Asks for CCTV Footage After Sharjeel Imam Alleges Assault in Jail

Imam alleged that he was called a 'terrorist' and that other convicts tried to place contraband in his possession.

Sharjeel Imam.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

A Delhi court on Thursday, 14 July, ordered authorities to provide CCTV footage of activist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Sharjeel Imam's jail cell as well as the duty register after he alleged assault by prison officials and convicts, and claimed that he had been called a terrorist.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat directed authorities in Delhi's Tihar Jail to produce the footage and said that it would be played in court on 20 July, as per news agency ANI.

Imam's application further claimed that convicts tried to place contraband in his possession.

Prison authorities on Thursday filed a report on the application moved by Imam. However, they denied calling him a terrorist, throwing his books or assaulting him, as was alleged.

Sharjeel's brother Muzzammil Imam had earlier shared the application on Twitter. "On 30.06.2022 Asst Superintendent came up with 8-9 inmates on the pretext of carrying out search of my brother Sharjeel Imam. Upon not finding anything, they called him terrorist, anti-national and assaulted him physically. The entire episode was captured on CCTV camera," he said in a tweet.

'Imam Misbehaved With Officials, Filed Complaint for Media Attention': Police

Authorities, meanwhile, said that a search of Imam's ward was conducted on 30 June under the deputy jail superintendent's supervision.

It further stated that Imam allegedly misbehaved with the staff and threatened to falsely implicate them to get media attention.

Jail authorities claimed that the entire episode was captured on CCTV footage and that the same has been preserved and will be produced in the court as directed.

The activist, charged had moved the Delhi court on 4 July in this regard.

Imam was arrested on the charge of sedition for allegedly giving inflammatory speeches against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh.

He has been in judicial custody since 28 January 2020.

The JNU PhD scholar also faces accusations of plotting riots in Delhi in 2020, during which 50 people were killed and several were left injured, and is facing charges under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

(With inputs from ANI.)