Black flags shown to Rahul Gandhi in Azamgarh

Azamgarh: Protesters demanding a judicial probe in the 2008 Batla House gunfight in Delhi showed black flags to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as he passed through the district on his Kisan Mahayatra through Uttar Pradesh.

A group of men belonging to the Ulema Council waved black flags near Sindhari turn here on Sunday when Gandhi's entourage was passing, police said. 

In the gunfight on September 19, 2008 in Batla House area of Jamia Nagar in south Delhi, two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists, Atif Amin and Mohamed Sajid were killed while two other suspects, Saif and Zeeshan were arrested. Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who led the police action was also killed during the incident. 

The Ulema Council has been advocating a judicial probe into the incident and claiming innocence of the two youth killed.

Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) had already got whiff of the plans of the Ulema Council and had detained, as a preventive measure, its state president Nur-ul Huda. He said that the protests would continue.

When Gandhi's motorcade entered Mau from Azamgarh, it met with heavy rains but crowds thronged the Muhhamadabad Gohna area to have a glimpse of the Congress leader and to hear him.

Hundreds of people had also gathered at the Azamgarh crossing where anganwadi workers waited for hours to present a memorandum to Congress Vice President but he did not accept it and moved on. Gandhi later had a food at the house of a Dalit family and moved ahead to garland a statue of former Congress leader Kalpanath Rai. After a 13-km trip through Mau district he entered the Ghazipur district.

The Yatra will remain suspended for two days - Monday and Tuesday owing to Eid and would resume thereafter, a Congress leader told IANS.