E-Paper
Rahul, Priyanka not allowed to enter Meerut, return to Delhi without meeting victims’ kin
ANTI-CAA PROTESTS, VIOLENCE: They were on their way to meet the families of those who lost their lives during the recent violent protests witnessed in Meerut against the citizenship law.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped by the police from entering Meerut on Tuesday when they were on their way to meet the kin of those who lost their lives during the recent violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019. They had to return to Delhi without meeting the aggrieved families.
The two had requested that they, along with Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, be allowed to meet the families but were denied entry, said Congress sources.
Later, Rahul told media persons, “We asked the police to show us the order but they did not show any order for stopping us and told us to return.”
The Congress leaders were to meet the families of Mohsin, Asif and Zahir of Bhoomia Pul area of Meerut who lost their lives in violence witnessed after the Friday namaz.
Circle officer (Brahmapuri) Chakrapani Tripathi stopped the leaders near Partapur police station and told them that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was in force in the area and they could not be allowed to proceed further.
According to sources from the Congress Party, Priyanka told the police officer that they were just three persons and Section 144 would not be violated. However, Tripathi reportedly said that they were almost a group. When the leaders asked him if it was an order, he purportedly said that he was simply requesting them to return.
Later, Congressman Imran Masood, western UP in-charge Pankaj Malik and other leaders visited and condoled the aggrieved families in Bhoomia Pul area.
They told the local residents and the victims’ family members that Priyanka and Rahul could not visit them as they had been stopped by the police. They also assured the families that the Congress Party was with them in their hour of grief.
Congmen protest
A group of Congress leaders, including ex-MLA Jai Narayan Sharma, UPCC member Satish Kumar Sharma, Pandit Navneet Nagar, Khemchand and others, sat on a ‘dharna’ on the road leading to victim Mohsin’s home in Bhoomia Pul to protest against the police action of stopping Priyanka and Rahul from entering the city and meeting the aggrieved families.
They also raised slogans against the police, the district administration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
To recall, widespread violence erupted in various parts of the state, including Meerut, after the Friday namaz. Several anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests turned violent, leading to loss of lives in different districts. Five people were killed after being injured in these protests in Meerut alone. Many police personnel and passers-by also sustained injuries as rioting mobs torched vehicles and a police post.
Earlier, on Sunday, Priyanka Gandhi had also visited Nahtaur town of Bijnor district and met families of two persons killed in the recent violence over the citizenship law. She also met the family of injured Omraj Saini there.
