Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Azad was on Sunday detained by the Hyderabad police while he was on his way to address a gathering at Crystal Garden in Mehidipatnam. Around 10 persons were also detained in Mehidipatnam near Crystal Garden where Azad was supposed to address people. The event at Mehidipatnam was organised by the All India Dalit Muslim Adivasi Progressive Front. The Hyderabad police had placed large barricades near Crystal Garden and were asking people to leave, claiming that the protesters did not have permission to gather there.
A tweet on his official handle stated that Chandra Shekhar Azad has been arrested by the police.
भीम आर्मी प्रमुख चन्द्रशेखर आज़ाद जी को हैदराबाद पुलिस ने गिरफ्तार कर लिया है।
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) January 26, 2020
Chandra Shekhar Azad was detained from Mallepally by the Habeeb Nagar police, while he was about to leave for the event in Mehidipatnam. The police have taken him into preventive custody.
Azad had earlier tweeted that security had been stepped up at the venue and that the police were forcibly preventing people from going to Crystal Garden.
Chandra Shekhar Azad was in Hyderabad to address students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, where a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was held on the occasion of Republic Day.
From TISS, he alleged that the female students of the institute were taken to the police station, kept there and were also abused. “The humiliation of sisters will not be tolerated. Rachakonda police should immediately come here and respond, otherwise, we will be surrounding the police station,” he tweeted.
मैं अभी TISS हैदराबाद में बैठा हूँ यहां कल सारी रात लड़कियों को पुलिस स्टेशन में बिठाकर रखा गया है और उनके साथ दुर्व्यवहार किया। बहनों का अपमान बिल्कुल बर्दाश्त नही किया जाएगा। @rachakondacop तुरन्त यहां आकर जवाब दे वरना हम पुलिस स्टेशन को घेरने आ रहे है।
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) January 26, 2020
Earlier in the day, mild tension prevailed at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) as a 'Save the Constitution Rally' that was planned by students on Sunday was foiled by the police. Around 200 students held the national flags and attempted to carry out a rally from their campus to the Ambedkar statue at Masjid Banda in Hyderabad. However, they were stopped at the gates of UoH as police had denied them permission for the event.
(This is a developing story)