Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan freed; wants BJP thrown out in 2019

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Ravan, who was jailed under the stringent National Security Act in connection with the 2017 Saharanpur caste violence case, was released from prison at 2.24 am on September 14, reported Asian News International. The Uttar Pradesh government had ordered Azad’s early release yesterday. The BJP government has also decided to set free, also before time, two accomplices of the Bhim Sena chief—Sonu and Shiv Kumar. They were to be released on November 14 this year. Three other associates of Azad were released on September 7 this year. With this, all accused held under the NSA in the May 2017 caste conflict have been set free.

Hundreds of Azad’s supporters had gathered at the jail to welcome Azad, who walked out of the jail amid chants of ‘Jai Bhim!’ and ‘Chandrashekhar Ravan Zindabad’.

Azad later addressed the media. “Government was so scared that they are going to be rebuked by Supreme Court, that they ordered an early release to save themselves. I'm confident that they'll frame some charges against me within 10 days: I'll ask my people to throw BJP out of power in 2019,” ANI reported Azad as saying.

Commentators have been speculating that the BJP-led UP government’s decision to release Azad could be a move to split Dalit votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, thus harming Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. However, in the recent Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll in Uttar Pradesh, Azad had from prison given a call to support the joint BSP-Samajwadi Party-RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan, who went on to win the election.

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