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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had been placed under detention in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur on Monday, 4 October, has alleged that she has been illegally confined in the Provincial Armed Constabulary area of Sitapur.
In a statement released by the Congress on Tuesday, Gandhi said:
"Having been brought to the PAC compound, no further communication regarding the circumstances or the reasons , or the sections under which I have been charged have been communicated to me by the UP Police or administration until now – 38 hours later at 6.30 pm on the 5th of October."
In the statement issued on Tuesday, Gandhi stated:
Gandhi had been detained by the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday as she, along with other party leaders, were travelling to Lakhimpur Kheri to pay her respects to the kin of those farmers who had died in the unrest on Sunday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Gandhi said that she had been travelling to Lakhimpur with four other persons – Congress leaders Deepender Hooda and Sandeep Singh, and two local party workers – when she was detained.
She further made the following allegations:
An FIR has been lodged against 11 people, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for 'disturbing peace', SHO Hargaon Police Station, Sitapur district, said on Tuesday, 5 October, reported news agency ANI.
A case has reportedly been registered against Gandhi under IPC Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences).
Deepender Hooda and Ajay Kumar Lallu have also been booked for the same, the report said.
"Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wanted to visit Lakhimpur Kheri but as Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in the district, the administration has stopped the entry of political leaders. We've stopped Priyanka Gandhi in Sitapur," District Magistrate Sitapur Vishal Bhardwaj was quoted as saying by ANI.
Priyanka Gandhi, on Tuesday morning, had taken to Twitter to address PM Narendra Modi, writing that she had been kept in detention for the last 28 hours without any order or FIR.
Gandhi, who was on her way to meet kin of farmers who died during the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday, 3 October, was arrested on Monday morning, 4 October, Congress’ youth wing national president Srinivas BV claimed.
She also tweeted a video of herself, addressing PM Modi and asking why the minister has not been removed as yet.
Congress leader Deepender Hooda, who had also been detained on Monday, said on Tuesday, "We were told that we were arrested under Section 151 of IPC, under which police can't detain us for more than 24 hours. Through media, we got to know that an FIR has been filed against us but the police are not sharing anything with us."
"We (including Priyanka Gandhi) are in custody in Sitapur police lines for about last 40 hours. No one is allowed to meet us. If we're in police custody, we should have been produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, which has not happened," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress workers broke barriers and raised slogans in Sitapur on Tuesday as Gandhi remained under detention, reported news agency ANI.
In videos tweeted by Srinivas, Gandhi can be seen contesting the police for stopping her, saying, "I am not more important than the people you have killed. The government you are defending. You give me a legal warrant, a legal basis or else I will not move from here and you won't touch me."
Later on Monday, in a video doing the rounds on the internet, she was also seen sweeping the floor of the room in which she has been detained. According to youth Congress leader Srinivas BV, who tweeted a video of the same, Priyanka has also started to fast while in detention.
Priyanka Gandhi had reached the Lucknow airport on Sunday evening, following the death of farmers after being allegedly run over by the car of Ashish Misra, son of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Ajay Misra.
"I don't know where I am; placed me under arrest without any paperwork," she told NDTV.
She also said she was "manhandled, pushed and shoved" and that the UP police followed her convoy and tried to stop them at various points while they were on the way to Lakhimpur Kheri.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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Published: 05 Oct 2021,09:13 AM IST