Picture : Twitter / ANI
Congress General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh East , Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was reportedly detained and stopped from going to Sonbhadra where 10 people were gunned down this week and taken to a guesthouse after she squatted on the road, insisting that she be allowed to proceed, UP Police officials said.
The Sonbhadra shootout acquired a sharp political edge with Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, alleging she was “illegally” arrested and the Uttar Pradesh government was attempting to crush democracy while local police officials maintained she was just detained in Narainpur in the state’s Mirzapur district.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted his sister’s arrest and expressed anguish over the situation
The illegal arrest of Priyanka in Sonbhadra, UP, is disturbing. This arbitrary application of power, to prevent her from meeting families of the 10 Adivasi farmers brutally gunned down for refusing to vacate their own land, reveals the BJP Govt’s increasing insecurity in UP. pic.twitter.com/D1rty8KJVq
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 19, 2019
As the issue snowballed, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised justice and said the sub-divisional magistrate and four other officials were suspended.
Besides, 29 people, including the village headman Yagya Dutt and his brother, were arrested. A committee under the additional chief secretary (Revenue) has also been constituted and will give its report within 10 days, Adityanath said in a statement in the assembly.
Ten people were killed and 18 injured in the clash between supporters of the village head and Gond tribals over a piece of land in Sonbhadra’s Ghorawal area on Wednesday. Dutt’s supporters allegedly opened fire on the tribals.
Priyanka Gandhi landed in Varanasi and met the injured at the BHU Trauma Centre before making her way to Sonbhadra, about 80 km away. The Congress general secretary UP (East) was stopped on the Varanasi-Mirzapur border.
She later tweeted about her aim of her visit
मैं नरसंहार का दंश झेल रहे गरीब आदिवासियों से मिलने, उनकी व्यथा-कथा जानने आयी हूँ। जनता का सेवक होने के नाते यह मेरा धर्म है और नैतिक अधिकार भी। उनसे मिलने का मेरा निर्णय अडिग है।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019
