Dictatorship is at its peak, says Chandrashekhar Azad after being detained over anti-CAA protest

Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhim Army Chief, who was detained in Hyderabad on Sunday, January 26 ahead of a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act, tweeted on Monday morning that he was "being sent to Delhi". Azad also alleged that his supporters were beaten up by police before his detention.

"Dictatorship is at its peak in Telangana.... First, our people were thrashed with sticks and then I was arrested. Now, they have been brought me Hyderabad airport, they are sending me to Delhi. Bahujan Samaj won't forget this humiliation... I will be back soon," Azad wrote in a tweet in Hindi.

He tagged Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's office in his tweet.

Azad was in Hyderabad to attend two meetings against the CAA, organised by alumni of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and All India Dalit Muslim Adivasi Progressive Front (AIDMPAF).

Azad and lawyer Mehmood Pracha were detained after they stepped out of a hotel in Masab Tank to go to the public meeting venue at Mehdipatnam.

According to a report in NDTV, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said, Azad was "detained under Section 151 because permission was not granted for the public protest,". This particular provision of the Indian Penal Code allows police to detain or arrest anybody who is likely to "disturb public peace".

Azad's supporters took to the social media to condemn his arrest and demanded his immediate release. #FreeBhimArmyChief was one of the top trends on Twitter.

As the police had denied permission for the public meeting, it took Azad and others accompanying him into custody and shifted them to various police stations.

Wahdat-e-Islami leader Moulana Naseeruddin, who had also reached the venue, condemned the police action. He alleged that the police was muzzling the voice of democracy and committing 'excesses' on those trying to protest peacefully against the CAA, NRC and NPR.

A public meeting at the same venue, scheduled to be addressed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar on January 13, had to be cancelled as the police had denied permission for it.

Azad's detention came 10 days after his release on bail from Tihar Jail. He was arrested by Delhi police on December 20 on charges of inciting people during anti-CAA protest. He was held when he tried to take out a march from Jamia Masjid to Jantar Mantar.