After keeping her at a local guest house for over 30 hours, the Sitapur police on Tuesday formally confirmed having arrested Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and at least 10 others, to “prevent the commission of cognizable offences”. However, the Congress leader was given a formal arrest warrant only Tuesday evening. Sources said the guest house where she has been under detention since Monday, has been notified as a temporary jail. The sources said a five-member Congress delegation led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would not give up as she is a “true Congress leader”. “The one who is kept in custody is not afraid— she is a true Congress leader, will not give up! Satyagraha will not stop,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been stopped on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people died after a car owned by Union MoS Home Ajay Mishra Teni allegedly ran over protesting farmers, triggering a clash. Other than Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, those arrested include Congress leader
Deepender Singh Hooda, UP Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu and party MLC Deepak Singh. The arrest has been made under Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the CrPC. “Total 11 persons have been arrested by us. On Monday around 4.30 am, Priyankaji was stopped while on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri. We told her that you should not go there as the situation is not fine and section 144 CrPC is in effect. She did not listen to us and in proper security presence, we had to take her to a local guest house,” said Hargaon station house officer (SHO) Brijesh Kumar Tripathi, adding that further course of action will be decided by senior officials.
Uttar Pradesh Police has registered an FIR against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and 11 others for allegedly “disturbing peace” in the state. According to Hargaon Police station SHO Brijesh Tripathi, a case has been filed against 11, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Deepender Singh Hooda and Ajay Kumar Lallu, under Section 107/16 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The UP Police action came even as two advocates on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Supreme Court, demanding that the investigation of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident be conducted in a time-bound manner under the supervision of the top court. The letter sought direction from the Ministry of Home Affairs and police to register an FIR and punish the ministers involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. It also sought setting up of high-level judicial inquiry under the supervision of Supreme Court involving CBI in stipulated time.
The Congress has alleged that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was arrested yesterday while she was on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri. Earlier in the day, Vadra had claimed that she has been detained for the last 28 hours without any order or FIR. As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had on Sunday issued a statement regarding the incident, claiming the death of four farmers and alleged that one of the four farmers was shot dead by Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni’s son, while the others have been allegedly run over by the vehicles of his convoy. Refuting SKM’s allegations, MoS Teni said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants merged with protesting farmers and pelted the stones on the car which lead to the “unfortunate incident”.
The mortal remains of three of the farmers, who were mowed down by a vehicle during a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, were cremated at their native places on Tuesday, while the family of the fourth one demanded a second post-mortem. Bahraich additional superintendent of police (Rural) Ashok Kumar said that a decision on the demand for a second post mortem could be taken only by senior officials.
Meanwhile, targeting the Central government over inaction in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the site, where eight people, including four farmers, died on Sunday. Sharing a video on Twitter, the Congress General Secretary slammed the Centre for her detention and questioned the government for not arresting those who “crushed the farmers”. “@narendramodi Sir, your government has kept me in custody for the last 28 hours without any order and FIR. This person who crushed the annadata (farmers) has not been arrested yet. Why?” alleged Priyanka Gandhi in a tweet today.
In the video that she shared on her official Twitter handle, she is heard saying, “I have heard that you are visiting Lucknow today to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Have you seen the video where your minister’s son is mowing down the protesting farmers? Answer the nation, why the minister has not been sacked and why the accused has not been arrested,” the Congress leader said. “Why the opposition leaders like me are in the custody without any order or FIR. I want to know why the accused is free.”
She further pointed out that the farmers have been raising their voices for last many months now but they are being ignored. “Visit Lakhimpur Kheri once. You must listen to the farmers. It is your duty to safeguard the farmers,” she added. This comes amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to Lucknow to attend the ‘Azadi@75-New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Expo at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in the city.
In a related development, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday claimed that a drone has been seen outside the PAC guest house in Sitapur where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been detained. “Whose drone is seen hovering over the Priyanka Gandhi’s room where she has been kept in custody for over 30 hours,” the Chhattisgarh CM tweeted in Hindi with a video of drone seen hovering over a building. Baghel on Tuesday claimed that he is not being allowed to leave the Lucknow airport, where he arrived to meet Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur. “I came to Lucknow to proceed to meet Priyanka Gandhiji at Sitapur. But I am not being allowed to leave the airport,” he said. “I am being stopped from going out of Lucknow airport without any orders,” Baghel tweeted in Hindi.
Slamming the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh government for the detention of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that if the law was equal for everyone, why should Priyanka Gandhi Vadra be in jail while the “minister” roamed about free. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday. “These three farm laws should be repealed at the earliest and incidents like this (Lakhimpur Kheri) need to be stopped. I will discuss this issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in today’s meeting,” Channi told media persons in Chandigarh, before leaving for Delhi.