Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on Wednesday allowed to go to Agra to meet the family of a man who died allegedly in Uttar Pradesh Police custody, ANI reported.
Earlier, she was briefly stopped by the police while she was on her way. The Lucknow Police had said that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which bans the assembly of more than five persons, was in place in Agra.
The man, a sweeper, had been detained for allegedly stealing money from a police warehouse, according to The Hindu. Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj G said that after the man confessed to the theft, the police took him to his home on Wednesday to recover the cash.
The police officer claimed that the accused person’s health deteriorated suddenly while the police was recovering the money. The man was taken to a hospital. A doctor declared him brought dead.
The man’s family alleged that the police were responsible for his death, The Hindu reported. A First Information Report has been filed against some police officers.
Before Vadra was allowed to go to Agra, the Congress had tweeted videos showing police officers stopping the party’s leader’s convoy.
“Someone has died,” Vadra told the police officer. “How is this a law and order issue? Can I not go anywhere? Should I stay in a rest house in Lucknow to please you?”
Another video showed the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, Ajay Kumar Lallu, being stopped by police officers. “The BJP is killing constitutional rights, crushing the voices of justice,” the Congress leader said.
Lucknow police commissioner DK Thakur clarified that Vadra was not arrested, reported PTI. A Congress spokesperson claimed that Vadra was taken into custody after being stopped by the police.
“Because of the massive crowds, the movement of traffic was being hampered and she was first asked to either go to the party office or her residence but when she did not agree, she was sent to the police lines,” Thakur said.
Chief Minister Adityanath, when asked about Vadra being stopped, said that “law and order was supreme and no one would be allowed to play with it”.
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party demanded action against the police officers who were responsible for the sweeper’s death.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
“In the BJP government, the police themselves are committing crimes,” he tweeted. “How will crime stop? In Agra, Rs 25 lakh was first stolen from the malkhana [warehouse] of the police station in connivance [with officers]. To hide the truth, the sweeper was murdered. This is shocking.”
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