Saharanpur violence: Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar aka Ravan arrested

The main accused in the Saharanpur violence and Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar was on Thursday arrested from Himachal Pradesh.

Chandrasekhar, who had been evading arrest since inter-caste clashes broke out in Saharanpur last month, was carrying a reward of Rs 12,000 on his head.

As the Bhim Army got active on the social media after the arrest, all Internet facilities in Saharanpur were blocked for two days to prevent mischief mongering.

The 30-year-old activist was nabbed from Dalhousie area of Himachal Pradesh, Additional DG (Meerut Zone) Anand Kumar said.

He will be brought to Saharanpur on a transit remand.

IG (Crime) Hariram Sharma told mediapersons in Lucknow that Internet facilities have been blocked for two days by the district magistrate of Saharanpur.

He said that a total of 46 FIRs have been registered since inter-caste violence broke out in Saharanpur last month.

As many as 206 arrests have been made so far, including that of Chandrasekhar, who has been booked under three FIRs, he said.

Earlier, two members of the Bhim Army were arrested in Saharanpur for their alleged involvement in the Ramnagar caste violence on May 9 after one person was killed and several others were injured in a clash between Dalits and Thakurs at Shabbirpur village on May 5.

About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured in subsequent violence on May 9.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had recently constituted a Special Investigation Team comprising 10 inspectors to probe 40 cases, registered between May 5 to May 23, in Saharanpur district which has seen bouts of inter-caste clashes last month.

Chandrasekhar had shot to limelight after holding a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against violence on Dalits in Saharanpur.

He had earlier said that he would surrender if 37 "innocent" Dalits were released on bail.

"I feel that the UP government has failed to address the issues of the Dalits. The chief minister has lost control over the police and the administration. There have been more cases of atrocities against the Dalits in the past two-and-a-half months as compared to last one year," he had said.

The cycle of violence in Saharanpur began on May 5, when a man was killed, several injured and around 25 homes set ablaze in inter-caste clashes in Shabbirpur village.

The district has remained tense ever since and violence has erupted repeatedly.

On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government had suspended the senior superintendent of police and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.

The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh have been attacking the ruling BJP over the violence in Saharanpur.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati visited Shabbirpur to counter the growing influence of Bhim Army by mobilising her party cadre in the region.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had met the victims of Saharanpur caste clashes and their family members at the district's border after authorities denied him permission to visit the violence-hit area.

The Centre has since sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the district administration restore peace in the region.

Chandrashekhar Azad 'Ravan', a young Saharanpur lawyer, and Vinay Ratna Singh had founded the Bhim Army in July 2015 to serve the interests of Dalits in the Sahranpur region where Rajputs and Dalits are involved in a long drawn tussle for dominance and fight against oppression.

Chandrashekhar belongs to Chhutmalpur village adjoining Shabbirpur, the epicentre of recent troubles.

Though the mission of the Bhim Army was to educate the community's children free of cost with their first school coming up two years ago at Saharanpur's Bhado village, it came into limelight in April when an Ambedkar Jayanti procession was stopped by upper caste Rajputs.

Chandrashekhar's strength became visible when thousands of Dalits staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against police action and atrocities by the upper castes and emerged as the new champion of Dalit cause.

The sudden rise of the Bhim Army under the leadership of Chandrashekhar has unnerved BSP supremo Mayawati, making her all the more worried after he succeeded in mobilising Dalits in western UP.