The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday slapped the stringent National Security Act on Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan hours after he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court.
Saharanpur Senior Superintendent of Police Bablu Kumar confirmed that Chandrashekhar has been booked under the NSA on recommendation of the district magistrate.
“Yes, Chandrashekhar has been booked under the NSA. The initiative to slap NSA on him was completed with the approval of the DM,” Mr. Kumar told the media.
Bhim Army leaders have termed the NSA as a conspiracy of the BJP government to keep the Dalit leader in jail.
“Chandrashekhar was expected to soon walk out of prison as he had gotten bail in four out of the five cases. But the BJP government does not want him to come out and fight for the rights of Dalits,” said a Bhim Army leader Satish Gautam.
“The highest court of the State saw the false grounds on which he was accused of violence and arrested by the UP Police and hence granted him bail. The BJP government did not like that and wanted to ensure that he remains in jail. But even the NSA would not last for long because soon the High Court will realise that the State government was being vindictive and completely unjustified ni booking him under the stringent Act,” Mr. Gautam added.
The Allahabad High Court had on Thursday granted bail to Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan and three other leaders of the Dalit group.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the caste violence in Saharanpur in August filed the charge sheet against Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar and 110 others. He was charged with 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon) and 153A of the Indian Penal Code among others.
The Bhim Army Ekta Mission is the full name of the group, which was established in July 2015 by Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, a law graduate, to empower Dalits through education. However, the group, which has been silently working among Dalits and now runs almost 300 schools in Saharanpur, shot to national prominence due to its protests against the atrocities against Dalits in Saharanpur.
