Bhim Army chief joins stir at Jama Masjid, then disappears

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar on Friday joined the protest by thousands of people at the historic Jama Masjid over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register for Citizens (NRC), holding a book of Indian Constitution, and then suddenly disappeared from the protesting site when Delhi Police tried to nab him.

Chandrasekhar arrived at the Jama Masjid premises, located in the heart of the city, soon after the Friday prayers ended.

Dressed in a white shirt, Chandrasekhar stayed at Jama Masjid for over 15 minutes and then led the march towards the Mandi House, making thousands of supporters to follow.

But soon after he began his march, Delhi Police tried to detain him as Section 144 was imposed in the area.

However, Chandrashekhar dodged the police and then suddenly disappeared in the crowd.

Rumours soon spread that Chandrasekhar has been detained by the Police but he actually dodged them, taking advantage of the huge crowd present there.

Delhi Police Spokesperson M.S. Randhawa, when asked if the Bhim Army Chief was detained by police and he managed to dodge them, he told IANS, “We didn’t detain him. So there is no question of him escaping from the Police.”

When IANS contacted another Delhi Police spokesperson, Anil Kumar Mittal said he has no knowledge of the whereabouts of Chandrasekhar and he needs to check with other officials present at the spot.

Earlier in the day, it was reportedly said that Chandrasekhar was detained by Delhi Police ahead of the protest at Jama Masjid after he arrived in the national capital from Rajasthan on Thursday night.

However, the Delhi Police denied about his detention before the protest.

Following the disappearance of Bhim Army chief, thousands of people held their protest in front of the Jama Masjid and also raised slogans against the BJP-led Central government.

The protesters demanded that the Bhim Army chief be brought to the Jama Masjid area, from where he was detained by the police.

The protesters then moved towards the Delhi Gate area to protest against the CAA.

A large number of force was deployed to maintain law and order in the area. The police also deployed the multiple drone cameras to keep bird’s eye on the protesters.

The drones were used by the police to keep an eye on the violent protesters and to identify those who were involved in provoking the crowd. iANS