On Saturday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi alleged that she was manhandled by cops in Lucknow. In a statement released on the congress Twitter page, she said that she was stopped while heading to the house of 76-year-old SR Darapuri, a retired IPS officer. She then went on to add that she walked on foot and took a ride on a party worker’s scooter the rest of the way.
The UP police stopped me while I was going to meet Darapuriji’s family. They grabbed me by the neck and manhandled me. They then surrounded me while I was going on a party worker’s two-wheeler, after which I walked to reach there.
-Priyanka Gandhi
However, the UP cops have denied any claims being made that they harassed Priyanka Gandhi.
There is no shred of truth in the claims being made on social media that cops grabbed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s neck, pushed her. I was just performing my duties.
-Senior Lucknow cop
Uttar Pradesh has been at the heart of the NRC and CAA protests in India with 18 people killed in clashes between the police and the protestors, out of which 15 of them died of firearm injuries. Over 1,100 people have been arrested in the state, and 5,558 kept under preventive detention. Nationwide, the toll of death stands at 25.