Saharanpur violence mastermind arrested in Himachal

Lucknow, June 8 (IANS) The mastermind of the communal clashes in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested from Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Chandrashekhar alias Ravana, head of Bhim Sena, a regional caste based outfit working for Dalits, has been taken on a transit remand and is being brought to Uttar Pradesh, a police officer here said.

A cash reward of Rs 12,000 was placed on his head. Chandrashekhar is accused of inciting clashes between Dalits and Thakurs in Saharanpur, which led to violence later and claimed a few lives.

He had a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him and had been in hiding. Political parties have been accusing each other of patronising Chandrashekhar.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using the Bhim Sena leader to bait Dalits against her party.

The BJP, however, rebutted the charges and said it was an offshoot of the BSP and Mayawati, worried of her slipping vote base, was using Chandrashekhar to defame the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.

Chandrashekhar was named the prime accused by the police on May 9, alleging he led a violent attack on a police station, vandalised government property, set afire many cars and bikes, and attacked the police.