HYDERABAD: Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad Ravan, who reached Hyderabad on Sunday to attend a slew of anti-CAA-NRC-NPR meetings, was taken into custody by the city police before he could address them in the evening.
He was picked up by the city police from a flat at Mallepally where he was resting along with his lawyer Mahmood Paracha, Bhim Army members and others. He was to attend a protest meeting called by the All India Dalit-Muslim Adivasi Progressive Front at Crystal Garden at Mehdipatnam.
As he was detained, his followers took to Twitter to announce the same on his official Twitter handle. The tweet written in Hindi (translated to English) said, “Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad has been arrested by Hyderabad Police.” A person who was with Azad when he was being detained said, “The police came at around 6.20 pm. He was lying on the bed as he was sick. The doctor had given him an injection at 5 pm”.
Hyd protesters detained ahead of anti-CAA meeting, released afterwards
“He had just woken up and was talking to his lawyer, who had arrived a while ago. By 6.45 pm, the police left with him. There were around 15-20 members of the Bhim Army who tried to block the car,” he added.
Both Azad and his lawyer Paracha were taken in one police car. Bhim Army national coordinator Kush and Telangana president Sujeet were detained separately.
While he was being accosted by the police, ‘Jai Bhim’ and other slogans were raised by his supporters. They also tried following the police car he was taken in, to figure out which police station he was being taken to. However, sources said that his supporters last spotted his car near Medchal.
Earlier in the day, Azad delivered a talk at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). He is also slated to visit University of Hyderabad (UoH) to attend another protest meeting on Monday. Meanwhile, with the police denying permission for the protest meet against CAA-NRC-NPR that Azad was supposed to participate in, several protesters were detained by the police at Mehdipatnam. Around 20 men and women were detained after they gathered near Crystal Gardens Auditorium. They were later released by the police.
A police official said, “We detained them so that it does not turn into a law and order situation. There was no permission given for this meeting. If people want to take out rallies, they will have to approach the High Court.”
On the same day, ACP Charminar B Anjaiah took to social media to clarify that no permission was given for the proposed 48-hour women’s sit-in protest organised by the AP and TS JAC against CAA.