Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Detained: The Congress leader was detained by Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday when she was on the way to meet the family of a man who died in police custody. As per reports, she was taken to Lucknow Police Lines. This is the second time in less than a month that Vadra has been detained by UP police.
Before getting detained the politician was stopped at the first toll plaza on the Luckow-Agra Expressway.
Just before her detention, Priyanka Gandhi said, "If I'm at home, ok. If I go to my office, ok. But the moment I go elsewhere, then they start this tamasha. Why? Eventually, I will meet the family. This is becoming ridiculous... people are being affected. Look at the traffic (behind her stopped convoy)." By underlining her constitutional right to free movement in the country, she said that she will visit the man's family as soon as she is released.
The Congress party has claimed that the UP government is trying to prevent her from talking to the family of Arun Valmiki who was arrested after being accused of stealing ₹ 25 lakh.
The Congress leader tweeted, "what is the government so afraid of?" She added in Hindi that Arun Valmiki died in police custody and that his family is seeking justice. She asked the UP government why she is being stopped from meeting his family.
"Today is Lord Valmiki Jayanti... PM Modi spoke big on Buddha but this is attacking his message," she tweeted in Hindi," she added.
According to reports, the UP police has said that Gandhi was stopped as she did not have the required permissions. The visuals from the site of her detention show the Congress leader surrounded by a crowd including police personnel she tried to make her way past the blockade. Cops were also seen in front of the car apparently persuading the politician to return.
In video footage, Gandhi was heard asking the cops why she needs to have permission for wherever she goes. She said that is a law and order issue. "What is the issue? Someone has died... what is the law and order issue, tell me..." she replies. Some visuals of the politician posing for selfies with women police officers have also surfaced from the detention site.
The UP Police has so far maintained that Arun Valmiki died after his health deteriorated during interrogation. He was then taken to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The man was accused of stealing money on Saturday night from a building that served as the police station's evidence locker. He used to work there as a cleaner.
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