Security vehicle of Priyanka hit

Amitabh Shukla

Amethi, Nov 21 (PTI) A vehicle, part of the cavalcade of Priyanka Vadra here met with an accident as a police escort hit it from behind, creating a panic amongst the security personnel.

Interestingly, it was the same green-coloured Toyota Quallis SUV which Priyanka drove with her brother Rahul Gandhi sitting on the front seat for a little over 35 kms in the Amethi constituency yesterday. Rahul, then took on the driving for the later part of the day.

A security personnel described the accident as a “breach of security” as the escort vehicle was trying to enter the cavalcade and in a hurry hit the Toyota vehicle from behind. Every district has its own police escort and pilot vehicles which changes the moment the jurisdiction of a district ends. The accident apparently happened when change was taking place.

The accident comes in the backdrop of a letter written by a Home Ministry official to the UP government on security of Rahul Gandhi while visiting his constituency. In the past, vehicles strayed in the Cavalcade of Gandhi, leading to a security breach.

Kishori Lal Sharma, the representative of twin constituencies of Amethi and Rae Barely was sitting in the vehicle at the time of the accident. No injuries, however, have been reported.

In the two-day trip of Priyanka and the one-day stay of Rahul in the constituency, the security had been upgraded and people, including media persons were kept at least 2 kms from the venue where the two interacted with the villagers.

This led to angry remarks from villagers, some of whom were denied entry in their own houses as Priyanka met the women from self-help group in Khalispur village.

“This has never happened in the past. They are preventing us from meeting our leaders,” said Anokhe Lal Tiwari, a Congress worker who wears Khadi and carries the flag of the party most of the time in the twin constituencies here.

The UP police has deployed PAC battalions at the venue of the meetings. The roads leading to the venues are closed by these personnel and they do not even allow the movement of the villagers and their livestock.