Ten days after Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Azad was granted bail, the Dalit leader was detained by Hyderabad Police ahead of a planned anti-Citizenship Act protest in the city. Lungerhouse police said the protesters did not have permission for the agitation and Azad was taken into preventive detention to prevent him from going ahead with it.
The Bhim Army chief was detained from a flat in Mallepally area and taken to Habeeb Nagar Police station. However, since the public began gathering at the police station, he was shifted to Bolaram Police Station. The party’s national coordinator Khush was also detained.
Azad was going to address a gathering organised by All India India Dalit-Muslim-Adivasi Progressive Front. The anti-CAA protests was scheduled to take place at Crystal garden, a private hall in the city.
His detention in Hyderabad comes hardly 10 days after his release on bail by a Delhi court. He was arrested on charges of inciting a crowd to take up an anti-Citizenship Act protest in the national capital’s Daryaganj last month.
Earlier today, a group of students of the University of Hyderabad were also detained by the police at the varsity’s main gate while they were heading towards the Ambedkar statue to hold an anti-CAA protest, as per ANI.
Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, even closed-door meetings are not being allowed by the police, allege activists. A senior police officer said that a closed-door meeting may turn into a public nuisance if people start to gather outside and raise slogans. “A prayer meeting is fine but the motive was possibly different. More and more people were gathering outside. Then it becomes a law and order problem.”