As Uttar Pradesh Police made elaborate arrangements at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border to prevent Congress leaders from moving to Moradabad, massive traffic snarls were witnessed on NH24 and other arterial roads in the region on Saturday morning. Commuters were stuck in jams for up to six hours from 9 am till afternoon.
More than 1,000 Congress workers, led by Congress leaders Naseeb Pathan, Madhusudan Mistry and Nagma, thronged UP Gate as they tried to head towards Moradabad. They were stopped at the border and detained with around 500 party supporters. The road was barricaded and police did not allow any vehicle to enter UP from Delhi without checking, which slowed down the pace of traffic.
There were massive jams on both sides of the highway that links the city with Ghaziabad, Indirapuram and Noida. The tailback stretched for kilometres. Diversions were enforced to improve the situation. Congress leaders Naseeb Pathan, Madhusudan Mistry, Nagma and other prominent leaders were detained by police at UP Gate for violation of prohibitory orders, city Superintendent of Police Shivhari Mirna said. A police team has been deployed at BJP MlA Sangeet Som’s Kaushambi apartment, he said.
“Police has been deployed at UP Gate. No car is being allowed to enter UP from Delhi without checking. The SP, circle officer, inspector and constables have fully taken control of UP Gate,” Mirna said. “The police failed to show them the arrest warrant. So the Congress workers staged a sit-in on NH24 where traffic remained disrupted for over an hour,” said Satish Sharma, the local Congress leader and former State Power Minister. Squarely blaming the police for the ruckus, UP Congress leader Nirmal Khatri said, “The police are treating the Congress and BJP in the same manner while the Congress wanted to carry out a peace march in the troubled town and BJP wanted to disturb the communal harmony.”
Tension gripped Kanth area Saturday as the BJP refused to back out of its proposed protest against district officials over allegations of victimisation of its cadres. Heavy security was deployed and all entry points leading to the area were barricaded. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 (banning unlawful assembly) were clamped, officials said. The situation became tense after the Congress State unit announced a peace march. Police sealed all roads leading to Moradabad to prevent both the BJP and the Congress from carrying out their protests.
The situation in Kanth has been tense since early July when acting on complaints of the local legislator, police pulled down loudspeakers from a village temple. It was also alleged that police entered the temple with their shoes on. This led to violent protests from the villagers, most of whom are Dalits.
The BJP soon joined the protests and accused the State Government of appeasing a community and victimising others. Three BJP parliamentarians and a legislator were arrested. Soon violence broke out and the Moradabad district magistrate lost an eye after being hit by a stone.