SP leaders barred from entering Sambhal district

The district administration’s directive on a ban, issued on Saturday, applies to outsiders, social organisations and public representatives.

The SP leaders had planned to enter Sambhal from different directions but were thwarted by heavy police deployment across the state. In some areas, tensions escalated, prompting the police to detain a few of the leaders temporarily. They were later released the same day.

Meanwhile, the party announced financial assistance of `5 lakh each to the families of those who were killed in the violence.

“We demand that the government provide `1 crore to each of these families as compensation. We had planned to visit Sambhal today, but heavy police deployment prevented any delegation member from reaching the district,” said Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey, the head of the delegation.

He added that on Sunday, the party would convene a meeting with former Chief Minister and party chief Akhilesh Yadav to decide the next course of action.

On Saturday morning, police personnel were deployed outside the residence of Mata Prasad Pandey, preventing him from stepping out.

“Police force was deployed outside my house and houses of other leaders who were scheduled to go to Sambhal since Saturday morning.  We were  prevented from going there. Several party workers and also delegation members who attempted to proceed were detained by the police in Moradabad,” he said.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused the UP government of engineering the violence in Sambhal to distract the public from alleged “rigging” in the recent by-elections.

“The BJP has a vested interest in instigating communal disturbances to polarise the people and divert their attention from their abysmal record in governance,” he said.

-With PTI inputs