NEW DELHI: Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhim Army chief, along with 96 supporters, was arrested on Wednesday night from Tughlaqabad area after protest by the party turned violent.
“He has been sent to 14 days judicial custody in Tihar jail and the rest are sent to other jails. Our legal team is working on how to release him from jail,” said a close aide of Chandrashekhar to The Morning Standard.
On Wednesday, Bhim Army took out a march against the demolition of a Ravidas temple which took an ugly turn, prompting police to resort to “mild lathicharge” and use tear gas to disperse the crowd.
An FIR has been registered under IPC sections 147, 149, 186, 353, 332 at Govindpuri police station against Chandrashekhar. All the accused were presented before a judge on Thursday and court proceedings were conducted at the Kalkaji police station as the authorities feared that protests might erupt at the Saket court complex.
“The police arrested five more protestors; they simply had said the slogan ‘Jai Bheem’ at Kalkaji police station. Around 20 protestors are admitted at AIIMS,” said the aid. According to the police, the protesters set fire to two motorcycles, and vandalised cars and a police vehicle.
A few policemen were also injured in the incident. “The matter is being investigated and further proceedings will be followed as per law. As of now, all the arrested have been sent to jail,” said DCP Chinmoy Biswal.
The protesters turned violent when police did not allow them to proceed to the site of the temple demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on August 10 on the orders of the Supreme Court.