ED questions Rahul Gandhi for 10 hrs, many Cong leaders detained during protest

Rahul was questioned for over 10 hours on Tuesday and has been called again on Wednesday.

The Congress alleged some of its leaders were manhandled by police and accused the police of having imposed restrictions on entry of its leaders into the party’s 24, Akbar Road headquarters. The party claimed police allowed only 15 AICC office-bearers to enter.

All roads leading to the AICC headquarters remained barricaded for the consecutive second day. Congress leaders and workers, including women, were picked up, dragged and pushed into buses and police vehicles. Many of them alleged they were taken to different police stations in Delhi and detained until late hours. Deepender Hooda, who was detained with Rajya Sabha member K C Venugopal, tweeted, “We have been imprisoned at Badarpur police station the whole day… without any fault, without any reason…”
Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Sagar Preet Hooda said: “We had detained 217 people, including some senior functionaries of Congress, from New Delhi district and sent [them] to various police stations. They have been released now. Today also police had denied them permission to organise gathering because Section 144 has been invoked.”

Rahul, who was questioned for nearly 11 hours on Monday, went to the party headquarters on Tuesday and met senior leaders before going to ED office. Several leaders tried to accompany him but were stopped by police and were bundled into buses and taken to various police stations.

The Congress released videos of the police dragging its Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather. The police took her and senior party leaders, including Randeep Surjewala and NSUI president Neeraj Kundan, to Vasant Kunj police station. Other leaders, including Lok Sabha MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi, and Rajya Sabha MPs Venugopal, Hooda and Ranjeet Ranjan were taken to Badarpur police station. Other leaders were taken to Mandir Marg, Narela and Fatehpur Beri police stations. The party’s two chief ministers — Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel — said they were stopped from going to police stations to meet leaders and workers. Baghel said he was stopped on way to Badarpur police station. “I was stopped near Apollo Hospital,” Baghel said. Gehlot said he was stopped from going to Mandir Marg police station. Chowdhury said the “country is witnessing brutalities and atrocities of the police at the behest of the ruling regime…”