Azad evades police to reach AMU Hospital to express solidarity with ‘ailing sister’

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday evaded police to reach a hospital here to express “solidarity” with a 19-year-old Dalit woman who is battling for life in the hospital after she was gang-raped in a Hathras village.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday evaded police to reach a hospital here to express "solidarity" with a 19-year-old Dalit woman who is battling for life in the hospital after she was gang-raped in a Hathras village. After her gang-rape nearly a fortnight ago, the woman was admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, where authorities said, her condition continues to be "critical". "I have come to the hospital to express solidarity with my ailing sister," Azad told reporters at the hospital gate. He said he rode a motorcycle and later a bicycle and managed to reach the hospital despite efforts by the police to prevent him from reaching there.

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 to Aligarh but he managed to give them the 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 the 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 hospital's entrance..

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