‘Total anarchy’: Cong leaders claim police stopping delegation from visiting riot-hit Sambhal
Hindustan TimesCongress leaders from Uttar Pradesh on Monday accused police of stopping them from visiting Sambhal, where four people died in alleged police firing after a mob protested violently against a court-ordered survey of a local mosque on November 24. Meanwhile, Ajay Rai, the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, received a police notice asking him not to go to Sambhal. The notice read, “Keeping in mind the peace and communal sensitivity in Sambhal district, you should cooperate in the public interest and postpone the proposed program so that the order passed by the District Magistrate, imposing Section 163 BNSS is not violated.” Reacting to the notice, Rai stated he would go “peacefully.” He said, “They have told me that my visit will cause chaos. They gave me notice but I will go there peacefully.” On Sunday, a delegation of Congress ally Samajwadi Party was blocked from visiting the violence-hit district, prompting a furious response from SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.