Farmers Movement Archive

Priyanka Gandhi ups Lakhimpur Kheri ante, is booked

LUCKNOW: Hours after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s tweet questioning PM Narendra Modi why she was detained without an order or FIR, UP Police booked her and 10 other Congressmen for disrupting peace and violating prohibitory orders. She, however, called her confinement illegal. Other Congressmen booked include Rajya Sabha member Deepender Singh Hooda, MLC from Amethi Deepak Singh, UPCC chief Ajay Lallu and seven party workers. Superintendent of police, Sitapur, RP Singh, told TOI that Section 151 was slapped on the leaders as they were proceeding towards violence-torn Lakhimpur Kheri, where Section 144 was in force. Singh also said, other charges slapped on the leaders include Section 107/116 for disrupting peace. On October 3, Priyanka Gandhi and other party leaders were detained and taken to 2nd Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) battalion guesthouse in Sitapur and lodged in different rooms. Read AlsoLakhimpur violence: Farmers' kin dispute autopsy, agree to cremate three after mediationFor hours on Tuesday, families of farmers who died in Sunday’s violence at Banbirpur in Lakhimpur Kheri refused to cremate the bodies after the autopsy reports "did not mention bullet injuries". Over the day, with BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait stepping in and holding talks with the administration,Meanwhile, Priyanka issued a statement on Tuesday evening. “I have not been served with any order or notice. Nor have they shown me an FIR. I have not been produced in front of a magistrate or any other judicial officer either. I have also not been allowed to meet my legal counsel who has been standing at the gate since morning.” The Congress leader added that she was not getting into the details of the illegal physical force used on her and her colleagues at the time of arrest. Taking to social media, she asked PM Modi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri and lend an ear to the problems faced by farmers. Read AlsoDetained en route, Priyanka makes ‘sweeping’ statementPriyanka Gandhi Vadra gave the heavy police cordon in Lucknow the slip to head off towards Lakhimpur Kheri late on Sunday night. She managed to reach Sitapur before she could be stopped, by tracking her movement through her cellular phone data. Priyanka took on the cops for stopping her in LucknowPriyanka also showed a video of the events in Lakhimpur Kheri and shot a series of questions towards the PM. “I have come to know that you will be visiting Lucknow for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav function. Have you seen this video? Why hasn’t your government removed the minister whose son has been accused of this conspiracy? Why hasn’t this man been arrested? Why have leaders like us, who want to visit Lakhimpur, been put under custody without any FIR?” she said.

The Times of India

2021-10-06

India