Rahul Gandhi to visit violence-hit Sambhal amid ban on entry of outsiders

PTI, Dec 4, 2024, 9:14 AM IST

Rahul Gandhi (PTI / File)

Lucknow/Sambhal: A Congress delegation led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit the violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday, with police and administration geared up to stop them before reaching the district.

Prohibitory orders, including a ban on the entry of outsiders, are in place in Sambhal. Last week, several Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs were stopped from entering the district.

Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.

Sambhal District Magistrate Rajendra Pensia on Tuesday wrote a letter to the police commissioners of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad and the superintendents of police of Amroha and Bulandshahr districts, urging them to stop Gandhi at the borders of their districts keeping in mind the “communal sensitivity” of Sambhal.

Gandhi will be accompanied by five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh. Newly-elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also likely to be part of the delegation.

On Gandhi’s visit, Superintendent of Police of Sambhal Krishan Kumar told PTI on Tuesday that if the Congress delegation comes, it will be served a notice as Section 163 of the BNSS is in force in Sambhal and no outsider is allowed.

“Police are citing BNS 163 in their missive. So we will insist that they allow at least 4 people. If stopped, we will push for allowing Rahul ji, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji, UP incharge Avinash Pande ji and myself to enter,” Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai told PTI.

Gandhi is expected to leave Delhi at 10 am for Sambhal and visit the families of those killed in the November 24 violence. After meeting the families, Gandhi will return to Delhi by road, according to his itinerary.

Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19, when a Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on court orders following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.

Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed in the violence and many more were injured.