Azad reaches AMU Hospital to express solidarity with ‘ailing sister’

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday managed to reach to express “solidarity” with a 19-year-old Dalit woman, battling for life after she was gang-raped over a fortnight ago in a Hathras village in Uttar Pradesh.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday managed to reach to express “solidarity” with a 19-year-old Dalit woman, battling for life after she was gang-raped over a fortnight ago in a Hathras village in Uttar Pradesh. Azad managed to reach the hospital after evading police on his way to Aligarh. “I have come to the hospital to express solidarity with my ailing sister,” Azad told reporters at the hospital.

According to medical college authorities, the Hathras woman’s condition continues to be "critical". Azad said he rode a motorcycle and later a bicycle and managed to reach the hospital despite efforts by the police to prevent him.

Reports about Azad’s proposed visit to the hospital had been circulating since Saturday. On a tip-off that the Bhim Army chief was on his way to Aligarh via GT Road, the police on Sunday made heavy deployment of its personnel on the Aligarh-Bulandshahr border near Khurja.

According to police, Azad’s cavalcade was stopped at the Gabhana toll booth on the way to Aligarh, but he managed to give police a slip. Traffic SP Satish Chand told reporters some Bhim Army activists had tried to block traffic at the Gabhana toll both on the GT Road, but police managed to defuse the situation and restore traffic.

According to hospital staff, there was a commotion when Azad suddenly made an appearance at the hospital, triggering heated exchanges between the police and Bhim Army cadres at the entrance of the hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)