Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for allegedly unleashing “patently illegal and violent” police excesses in which an estimated 25 persons have been killed during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the past fortnight.

The Chief Minister is complicit in the police excesses and is primarily responsible for it because he literally directed action with his statement that his government would take “revenge” on CAA protesters, she said.

In a memorandum submitted to UP Governor Anandiben Patel, UP Congress Chief Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’ and Priyanka Gandhi detailed police excesses and demanded a judicial probe into the alleged killings and unlawful arrests. They also sought an immediate end to police violence and excesses.

Police excesses

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Delhi released the detailed memorandum in Delhi, while Priyanka — along with senior party leaders Salman Khursheid and Pramod Tiwari — addressed a press conference in Lucknow, giving details of victims’ version of police excesses. She accused the CM of targeting innocent citizens.

“This is a Chief Minister who talks about taking revenge on his own people. He dons saffron, the colour of our tradition and culture. It does not belong to him; the soul of India is about compassion. Lord Rama and Krishna taught us compassion and love, not revenge,” she said.

The BJP immediately hit back, with UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma saying that Priyanja “disrespected Hinduism”.

Besides the detailed documentation of police excesses, the Congress General Secretary narrated eyewitness and family accounts of those who have been killed in the last fortnight.

Details of victims

“In Bijnor, two boys named Anas and Suleiman have been killed. They were 20 and 21 years old. Anas ran a coffee machine to contribute to the family income. He was standing outside his house with his father and told him he was going to get milk and be back in 10 minutes. Within a few minutes, the father was told a boy wearing a black jacket has been found dead. The father found his body. The police came to their house that evening and warned them against lodging an FIR,” narrated Priyanka.

“Twenty-one-year-old Suleiman was studying for his UPSC exams. He came home to Bijnor because he was running a fever. He went to offer namaz but never came back.

“The family found his body with a bullet wound to his chest. The police have threatened them, too, warning them against lodging an FIR,” she said.

She gave details of the arrest of 77-year-old former IPS officer SR Darapuri, who has been arrested along with several others who protested against CAA.

“He is a former IPS officer. He lives in a modest home that even a casual visitor can make out is the home of a government officer who was honest. It is full of books.

“His wife is 75 and is ailing and bed-ridden. All that he did was to make a Facebook post against CAA. And now he is under arrest with 48 other protesters with serious charges against them,” she said.

Security issues

On the controversy with regard to her own security breach, she said: “It is totally unnecessary and needless to rake up an issue about my security when common people are being subjected to such excesses.

“My security is a meaningless headline at a time like this.”

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