Bhim Army to protest at Jantar Mantar again

‘Innocent people framed for Saharanpur violence’

June 15, 2017 09:37 pm | Updated 09:37 pm IST - Meerut

A week after Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested by the Special Task Force, the Dalit outfit has planned another protest at Jantar Mantar on June 18 against the “wrongful arrest” of its founder.

Mr. Chandrashekhar’s mother Kamlesh Devi is expected to address the rally.

Vinay Ratan Singh, who is heading the Bhim Army in Mr. Azad’s absence, said the rally was a protest against the framing of innocent people for the riots in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur last month.

Its previous rally at Jantar Mantar in May saw a huge turnout.

Satish Prakash, a Dalit activist campaigning for Sunday’s rally, told The Hindu: “It is being organised to tell the U.P. government that it cannot arrest someone for standing for the rights of Dalits and for protesting against their rights violations. What happened in Shabbirpur on May 5 and in subsequent days, was a one-sided action by the Adityanath government in favour of the Thakur community and against the Dalit victims of the caste violence.”

The Bhim Army is running a campaign on social media to spread the word about the rally. It has circulated a video of Mr. Chandrashekhar’s mother appealing to the people to join the rally. The outfit is circulating pamphlets and posters in Saharanpur. Activists and supporters are also mobilising people from across western Uttar Pradesh.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.