Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad shot at UP's Saharanpur

Bhim Army chief and Azad Samaj Party (ASP) founder Chandrashekhar Azad was shot at by unidentified assailants in UP's Saharanpur district on on Wednesday evening, June 28.

Azad was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Saharanpur SSP Dr Vipin Tada said that the Ambedkarite activist's convoy was fired at by a few car-borne armed men.

"I don't remember well but my people identified them. Their car went towards Saharanpur. We took a U-Turn. Five of us, including my younger brother, were in the car when the incident occurred..," Aazad said while he was being rushed to the hospital.

“Half an hour back, the convoy of Chandra Shekhar Azad was fired at by a few car-borne armed men. A bullet brushed past him. He is alright and has been taken to CHC for medical treatment. Police is investigating the matter,” the police said.

Photographs of an injured Azad were shared from his social media accounts. Dalit Activists and his supporters questioned the law and order situation in UP, urging the police to take strict action against the culprits.

"The murderous attack on Bhim Army Chief and National President Bhai Chandrasekhar Azad in Deoband of Saharanpur is a heinous act of stopping the Bahujan Mission Movement," wrote the Bhim Army on Facebook.

"We demand urgent arrest of the accused, strict action against them and security for national president Bhai Chandrasekhar Azad," they added.

Born into a Dalit family, Azad founded Bhim Army in 2014, a Dalit social organisation which runs schools for Dalits in western UP.

Three years later, the Dalit activist grabbed headlines in national media after he was arrested under the NSA in connection with the Saharanpur violence.

Saharanpur violence broke out in May 2017 after members of the Rajput and Dalit communities attacked each other.

Dalits alleged that members of the powerful Thakur community attacked and burned down their houses while Rajputs said Dalits attacked and killed one person when they were taking out a procession. After spending 15 Months in jail, Azad was released in 2018. He founded Azad Samaj Party in 2020.