Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband on Tuesday. Soon after, his supporters clashed with the Uttar Pradesh Police and blocked the path of the vehicle that was taking Azad to the police station. The clash resulted in a traffic jam on the Muzaffarnagar-Saharanpur highway.

The Dalit leader was on his way to Delhi to take part in events being conducted to celebrate Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary on 15 March, but was denied permission for the same.

Azad had earlier been arrested in June 2017 from Himachal Pradesh in connection with a case of caste violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur in May 2017, in which one person was killed and 16 others were injured. He was jailed under the National Security Act and released in September 2018.

The Bhim Army leader had said last week that he would support outfits that contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Smriti Irani. He had also sharply criticised Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s comments wishing for Modi’s return for a second term.