Sonbhadra massacre: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spends night in detention, Congress workers protest

Several Congress workers were seen sitting on dharna outside Mirazapur's Chunar Guest House, where Priyanka spent the night.

Chunar Guest House where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spent the night (ANI Photo)

LUCKNOW: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and nine others, who were stopped in Narayanpur by police, spent Friday night in detention. The Gandhi scion refused to fill the bail bond of Rs 50,000 and insisted on proceeding to Sonebhadra in Uttar Pradesh where 10 people were killed in clashes over a land dispute on Wednesday.

Several Congress workers were seen sitting on dharna on Saturday (July 20) morning outside Mirzapur's Chunar Guest House, where Priyanka spent the night.

Mirzapur: Early morning visuals from Chunar Guest House where Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra & party workers have been sitting on dharna. She was detained in Narayanpur by police yesterday while she was on her way to meet victims of Sonbhadra's firing case. pic.twitter.com/8Dl4UaXj4T

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 20, 2019

Priyanka was detained after being stopped from going to Murtiya village in Sonebhadra district. The police, however, denied that she had been arrested. The Congress leader arrived in Varanasi on Friday morning and met the injured persons admitted to the Trauma Centre of the Banaras Hindu University. When she proceeded towards Sonebhadra, her convoy was stopped on the Mirzapur border. A defiant Priyanka then squatted on the ground with the Congress workers and was later taken away in a government vehicle to Chunar.

"The Uttar Pradesh government has sent ADG Varanasi Brij Bhushan, Varanasi Commissioner Deepak Agarwal, Commissioner Mirzapur and DIG Mirzapur to tell me that I should return without meeting the victims` families. They have not given me any reason or documents for detaining me," Gandhi said in a tweet in the early hours of Saturday.

उप्र सरकार ने ADG वाराणसी श्री बृज भूषण, वाराणसी कमिश्नर श्री दीपक अग्रवाल, कमिश्नर मीरजापुर, DIG मीरजापुर को मुझे ये कहने के लिए भेजा कि मैं यहाँ से पीड़ित परिवारों से मिले बग़ैर चली जाऊँ। सब एक घंटे से मेरे साथ बैठे हैं। न मुझे हिरासत में रखने का कोई आधार दिया है न कागज़ात दिए — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

"I have made it clear to them that I have not come here to break any law but to meet the families and I won`t return without meeting them," she said.

The law enforcement officials left the guest house at around 1.15 a.m Saturday. “ADG Varanasi, Commissnor Varanasi division and other senior Police & Govt officials leaving Chunar Qila at 1.15 am,” she tweeted.

ADG Varanasi, Commissnor Varanasi division and other senior Police & Govt officials leaving Chunar Qila at 1.15 am pic.twitter.com/ceyk4Rg2k0 — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

A defiant Priyanka further tweeted that she hasn't violated any section of the law and that her detention is illegal.

मैंने इनसे मेरे वकीलों के मुताबिक मेरी गिरफ़्तारी हर तरह से गैर-क़ानूनी है। मुझे इन्होंने सरकार का संदेश दिया है कि मैं पीड़ित परिजनों से नहीं मिल सकती। — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

“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,” tweeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

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

Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra also tweeted that the arrest is completely unconstitutional.

At least 10 people, including three women, died and over 24 were injured in a clash between Gond and Gujjar communities over a land dispute in Sonebhadra on Wednesday. The police have arrested 29 people, including the kingpin Yogesh Dutt, in connection with the violence in Sonebhadra. A case has been filed against 78 people.