Bhim Army chief seeks CBI probe into attack on him

Bhim Army founder Chandra Shekhar Azad has demanded a CBI probe into the attack on him on June 28 so that those who hatched the conspiracy against him can be exposed.

Four assailants in a car had allegedly opened indiscriminate firing on the vehicle of Azad near Gandhi Nagar colony under Deoband police station limits in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district when he was returning from his party worker's house on June 28 evening.

On July 1, the Ambala unit of Haryana Special Task Force in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested four people from near a dhaba in the Shahzadpur area of Ambala.

As per the police, during interrogation, the arrested persons said that they shot at Bhim Army founder because they were angry over his statements made in the past few months. The accused were identified as Vikas, Prashant and Lovish, all from Saharanpur. The fourth accused Vikas hails from Haryana's Karnal.

Chandra Shekhar, meanwhile, has expressed his dissatisfaction over the police version. He also claimed that a pistol was used to attack him, while the police had recovered two country-made pistols from the possession of those arrested.

"A CBI investigation will expose who were involved in the conspiracy of attack. Police should honestly find out 'who paid the attackers', he demanded.

The Bhim Army leader alleged that as part of the conspiracy, the attackers parked the car in Gurjar-dominated village Miragpur so that there could be an ethnic clash. He said Bhim Army workers were also collecting information at their level.

The Bhim Army chief appealed to police that the families of the attackers should not be troubled for their act. He reiterated that such attacks made him stronger. "If atrocities are committed against women, I will speak. No matter how many bullets someone fires, I am not afraid," he added.

Saharanpur SSP Vipin Tada refuted Chandra Shekhar's allegations and said that Bhim Army's men had provided them the empty cartridges of the bullets fired at him and visibly they were of .315 bore. "Anyone can easily differentiate between a cartridge of .315 bore and other cartridges," he said.

The SSP said the empty cartridges would be sent for forensic test. Tada further said the attackers left the car in village Miragpur because they were known to a person there.