Bhim Army chief Azad, 20 others arrested for arson

The police on Saturday arrested Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad for arson and rioting during a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the national capital.

Twenty other miscreants were also arrested for indulging in violence during protests on Friday.

"We have arrested 21 miscreants, including Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, for arson and rioting, damage to public property, unlawful assembly and causing grievous hurt. Azad was leading the mob," said a senior IPS officer.

The police have arrested five for violence in Seelampur and 16 from Old Delhi near Delhi Gate.

The Bhim Army protest started after Friday prayers around 1 p.m. and Azad was present in the march. However, when the police tried to detain him, his supporters took him away. Thereafter, he had been playing hide and seek with the police which finally managed to arrest him.

Speaking to the media on Friday, the Bhim Army chief had said: "Police have been attacking since morning...we have not attacked them. I have evidence to prove that the RSS has planned this attack against us. We are continuing our protest in a peaceful manner".

On Friday, the protesters marched towards Jantar Mantar from Jama Masjid, but were stopped by the police and paramilitary personnel near Delhi Gate. After this, the protest turned violent with demonstrators setting a car on fire and damaging a few vehicles. The police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannon.

The police said Azad has been instigating the crowd and had also called for an unlawful assembly which later ended up in arson and rioting.

The Seeampur demonstration started on Friday afternoon and when it ended during evening hours, a few miscreants indulged in violence and arson after police nabbed a few miscreants from the spot.

( With inputs from IANS )