Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was stopped by the authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur while travelling to Sonbhadra, where she wanted to meet the families of people killed in a shooting over a land dispute. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 were in force in Sonbhadra.

Sit-in and detention

Priyanka sat on the road with supporters in protest and was soon taken into preventive custody. She told reporters she would cooperate even though she had not been told where she was being taken. State police chief OP Singh said she had only been stopped, not detained, while her brother and outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi called it an “illegal arrest”. Congress leader Sushmita Deb said Priyanka had made clear she would not violate Section 144 and only wanted to show solidarity with the families, and argued that the chief minister should help her visit rather than block it.

The Sonbhadra killings

On Wednesday, 10 people were killed and 28 injured in the Ghorawal area of Sonbhadra district as they tried to stop the village headman and his men from seizing 90 bighas of disputed land. Police have arrested 29 people, including the main accused, village head Yagya Dutt. He, his brother and others were booked under the SC/ST Act on a complaint by a local resident, Lallu Singh.

Government’s response

In a statement to the state assembly on Friday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the sub-divisional magistrate, the circle officer and the inspector posted in Ghorawal had been suspended, along with a beat sub-inspector and a constable, on the basis of a report by a probe committee set up on July 17. He said officers had not acted adequately despite past clashes between the two sides and fears of violence.

The chief minister said the dispute went back to 1955, with several cases pending in revenue courts and criminal complaints lodged by both factions. A three-member committee led by the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) will examine revenue records and report within 10 days, while the Additional Director General of the Varanasi zone will look into cases the two sides filed before July 17. “Those involved in the act will not be spared,” he said.

See also: Congress | Election news

Originally published on 19 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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