Lucknow/New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on Friday stopped from going to Sonbhadra where 10 people were gunned down this week and taken to a guesthouse after she squatted on the road with her supporters, insisting that she be allowed to proceed.
The Sonbhadra shootout acquired a sharp political edge with Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, alleging she had been "illegally" arrested and the Uttar Pradesh government was attempting to crush democracy while local police officials said she was detained in Narainpur in the state's Mirzapur district.
As the issue snowballed, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised justice and said the sub-divisional magistrate and four other officials were suspended.
Priyanka Gandhi landed in Varanasi and met the injured at the BHU Trauma Centre before making her way to Sonbhadra, about 80 km away. The Congress general secretary UP (East) was stopped on the Varanasi-Mirzapur border.
She was taken to the Chunar guesthouse in nearby after she sat on 'dharna'.
Priyanka Gandhi and other members of the Congress were "stopped and detained" at Narainpur while they were on their way to Sonbhadra, Deputy Inspector General Piyush Kumar Srivastava said.
An agitated Priyanka Gandhi said she only wanted to meet the affected families and demanded to be shown the orders under which she was stopped.