3 men taken in custody after car used to attack Bhim Army chief found 7km away

Police said the car used by the four assailants who opened fire at Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad in Saharanpur was stolen from Chandigarh three days ago

LUCKNOW/MEERUT: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday took three men into custody for interrogation after the recovery of a car reported to have been used in the attack on Azad Samaj Party and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad at Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district on Wednesday evening, people aware of the development said.

A damaged car of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's convoy which was shot at by armed men in Saharanpur on Wednesday (PTI)

Azad was injured on Wednesday evening when four unidentified men in a car opened fire at his car in Saharanpur district. A case of attempted murder has been registered at Deoband police station on the complaint of activist Manish who was driving Azad’s vehicle at the time of the incident, said additional director general (ADG) of police, Meerut zone, Rajeev Sabharwal.

Manish told the police that four persons were in the car when they started firing at Azad’s vehicle near Gandhi Nagar colony under Deoband police station limits at about 5pm. Chandrashekhar Azad was returning from a party worker’s house. One bullet grazed his abdomen; the others hit the car. There were five other vehicles in the motorcade but they weren’t targeted.

Police officers said Azad, who was first taken to a community health centre at Deoband, was shifted to the Saharanpur district hospital.

A senior police officer said the car used by the attackers was abandoned outside a house in Miragpur village, nearly 7km from the spot where Azad was attacked. The officer said the police were alerted to the vehicle by a man who lives near the spot where the car with Haryana registration was found. The man told the police that three persons who studied with him in college parked the car outside his house to frame him in the case.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Saharanpur, Vipin Tada said the police were probing the case thoroughly and retrieved CCTV footage in which a car was seen moving suspiciously close to Azad’s motorcade.

The car was stolen from Chandigarh a few days ago.

The SSP added that some suspects were being interrogated in the matter and the police were trying to create the entire sequence of events leading to the shooting.

Supporters’ protests seek security for Azad

A day after the attack on Azad, Bhim Army and Azad Samaj Party supporters staged protests in districts across the state to demand special security cover for their leader. They also gathered at the Saharanpur district hospital where additional security personnel were deployed.

Controversial FB post, youth held

One man, Vimlesh Singh was arrested in Amethi district on Thursday after registration of an FIR at Gauriganj police station in connection with a Facebook post regarding the attack on Chandrasekhar Azad on Wednesday. The FIR was lodged by Gauriganj police station inspector in-charge Akhand Dev Mishra.

According to the police, a Facebook account with the name of Kshatriya of Amethi was created and a post was shared that spoke about attacking the Bhim Army chief. The post claimed that the attack will be executed by them — Kshatriya of Amethi.

Police said nobody paid attention to it then but the account became viral on social media when another post was shared after the attack in which the user stated that “Chandrasekhar escaped this time and will not survive the next time”.

A police officer said the FIR was lodged for criminal intimidation and for using social media to issue a threat.