Kanpur:

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad along with his supporters staged a sit-in after he was prevented by police from meeting the Unnao victim on Monday, official sources said.

Chandrashekhar Azad was stopped at Ganga Barrage in Kanpur while he and his supporters were on their way to Survoday Nagar, Kakadev to meet the teenage girl who was poisoned in Unnao and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Kanpur Range IG, Mohit Agarwal, told PTI over the phone that Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar and his supporters were stopped at Ganga Barrage while they were on their way to meet the Unnao girl at a private hospital in Kakadev.

“Chandrashekhar Azad and his supporters were not allowed to meet the girl as it was not appropriate to make the hospital overcrowded believing that the mass gatherings may lead to the spread of infectious diseases and might be a serious threat to the minor girl,” the IG added.

Chandrashekhar Azad and his supporters had staged a sit-in and they later handed over a memorandum to a magistrate, the IG said adding, they then left the city.

The Bhim Army chief earlier demanded that the girl be shifted to AIIMS in New Delhi and a CBI probe be initiated in the case, said another senior official.

Interacting with media persons, Azad said the way the administration deployed police to stop him, the same arrangements should be made to stop criminals so that the crime rate in the state could come down.

The girl, along with two other minor girls, was given poison in Unnao last week and is undergoing treatment at a hospital here. The two other girls had died following the incident and the main accused was arrested.