Sharjeel Imam’s mother: My son doesn’t need to run from police

“The statements of my son have been distorted and selectively played by the media. My son is not a ‘chor or uchakka (thief or ruffian)’ to run from the police. He is being vilified and harassed,” Imam’s mother, Afshan Raheem, said on Monday.

She said her son was only opposing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and added that she had not been able to contact her son from several days.

“He is being framed. But we have faith in law of the land,” she told reporters in Jehanabad.

Imam’s father, Akbar Imam, once the Congress Gaya district president, had contested the 2005 Assembly polls unsuccessfully as a JD (U) nominee. He had also unsuccessfully contested as an Independent in the 2000 Assembly polls from Kurtha. Sharjeel’s uncle, Arshad Imam, is a JD (U) worker.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Arshad Imam said: “I have not spoken to Sharjeel for a while. All of us are very upset. His full statements should be heard…we have full faith in the judiciary.”

Police have been conducting searches for Sharjeel in Subzibagh, Alamganj, Phulwarisharif and other areas of Patna. A senior police officer said: “His mobile phone has been switched off since two days”.