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Monday, Apr 27, 2009
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Attempts to break Priyanka’s security cordon

Reaching out: Priyanka Vadra during an election campaign in her mother’s constituency Rae Bareli on Sunday. Photo: PTI

Lucknow: The Congress Party’s star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi’s security cordon was broken twice on Sunday when she was electioneering for her mother Sonia Gandhi in the Rae Bareli constituency.

While the police say there was “nothing incriminating”, the attempts to breach the heavy security have sent the top administration of the State in a tizzy.

According to the police, a middle-aged man wearing a police uniform tried to get close to the Congress president’s daughter. But he was arrested.

“The man in a Home Guard’s uniform, who broke the security cordon, was found to be mentally unwell and had lost his job on that account,” Brij Lal, Additional Director- General of police (law and order), told IANS here.

In the second instance, a truck was seized and its driver arrested when he pushed the vehicle into Priyanka’s convoy, a fleet protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG). The incident occurred in Raniganj village in Rae Bareli district.

“The truck bears Maharashtra registration number,” said a police official, who also confirmed that “nothing incriminating was found in the preliminary search of the truck”.

“But we are questioning the driver because he really went out of the way to break into the fleet.”

Mr. Lal said: “Our people are on the job to investigate how such a thing could have happened.”

Security for Sonia tightened

Malda (WB): Security has been beefed up in Malda district over Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s election rally at Samsi on Monday.

Additional forces have been deployed at important places in the district headquarter town of Malda and at the venue of the rally at Samsi, police sources said here.

An alert has been sounded at six police station areas bordering Bangladesh and vigil increased in border areas, the sources said adding movement of people at railway stations and bus stands are closely monitored.

The Congress chief is scheduled to address the rally at Samsi in the North Malda constituency, from where young Mausam Benazir Noor, niece of late Congress stalwart A. B. A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, is contesting. IANS/PTI

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