Rahul Gandhi walks into Saharanpur district, meets violence victims at ‘dhaba’

YAMUNANAGAR: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi walked into Saharanpur district from the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border on Saturday afternoon and met some victims of caste violence at a ‘dhaba’ in Shahjahanpur village.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi meeting family members of the victim of Saharanpur caste violence at Shahjahanpur village on Saturday. — Tribune photo

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, May 27

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi walked into Saharanpur district from the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border on Saturday afternoon and met some victims of caste violence at a ‘dhaba’ in Shahjahanpur village.

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He accompanied by AICC general secretary in-charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and other party leaders.

The Congress vice-president walked on foot more than a km and reached a ‘dhaba’ at Shahjahanpur village, where he met some of the victims of the caste violence.

After staying about half-an-hour at the ‘dabha’, Rahul returned to Delhi via Yamunanagar.

According to information, the Saharanpur district administration had put barricades and deployed policemen in large numbers at the entry point on the border. When the Congress vice-president’s car reached near the barricades, the police didn’t allow the driver to go ahead.

In the meantime, Rahul Gandhi got down and walked into the Saharanpur district. Other Congress leaders followed him.

After walking for more than a km, they were stopped by the police. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders stopped at a ‘dhaba’ there.

Sources said Gandhi wanted to go to violence-hit Shabbirpur village, but the Saharanpur administration didn’t allow him.

Gandhi stopped at three places — at Radaur, Joriyo Naka and near Sugar Mill yard in Yamunanagar district, where he was welcomed by the Congress men.

Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes his month.

Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.

About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.

On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.

The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region. — With agency inputs