Days after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Chandrashekhar Azad, Dalit activist and chief of the Bhim Army, on July 1 said that there could be a larger conspiracy by forces wary of his rising popularity in the marginalised sections of society. “Their could be a larger conspiracy orchestrated by casteist forces to eliminate me, with the shooters only acting as foot soldiers. I demand a judicial enquiry over the incident as the State administration failed to protect me and a bigger plot by powerful forces to kill me can’t be ruled out,” he told The Hindu.
“Since the last two years, I have been demanding security [cover] but the application has been rejected twice. Three months ago, I again requested security. My application for a license to carry a firearm was also rejected citing pending cases [against him]. It clearly signifies negligence by the administration when they are aware that feudal and casteist elements hate me as I continuously fight for oppressed Bahujan groups,” Mr. Azad said.
Mr. Azad was shot at by a group of assailants on June 28 in the Deoband area of Saharanpur district when he was returning from attending a terahvi (13th day funerary ritual) at a supporter’s home. The attack elicited widespread condemnation, with Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav describing the incident as a sign of “jungle raj” and alleging the attack was carried by “criminals protected by those in power”.
