The Centre is likely to take up with the Uttar Pradesh government the issue of “security breach” during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Allahabad as initial report suggested that police “failed” to control protesters who tried to stop the SPG protectee’s car.
Home Ministry officials said prima facie it looks like the local police personnel, who were deployed along Mr. Rahul’s travel route, “failed” to control activists of Samajwadi Party’s youth wing who tried to stop his car and clamber on to the vehicle raising black flags.
After a detailed investigation by the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Home Ministry will raise the issue with the Uttar Pradesh government for appropriate action, they said.
The SPG has duly informed the local police about the travel plan of the Congress leader, sources said.
The incident took place last evening when Gandhi was on his way to Anand Bhavan, the ancestral house of the Nehru-Gandhis, for overnight stay after an interaction at engineering institute MNNIT.
As Mr. Rahul’s motorcade approached Anand Bhavan, a group of SP youth wing activists, waving black flags and shouting slogans against the leader, jumped in front of his vehicle.
Some of the protesters came dangerously close to Mr. Rahul’s car before they were repulsed by the SPG personnel guarding the Congress general secretary.
On Monday, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Allahabad, Ram Kumar, however, termed the reports of security breach as “absolutely untrue“.
“These reports are absolutely untrue. We have received no complaints in this regard from the SPG team which has been camping in the city for the past couple of days. We have been working in close coordination with it,” he said.
Security arrangements for Gandhi, who visits Uttar Pradesh frequently, has often been a cause for spat between the Centre and the state government which had accused the former of not sharing enough inputs with the local police during the leader’s tours.
