Over 450 Congress Workers, Leaders Detained While Protesting During Rahul Gandhi's Appearance Before ED

New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) The Delhi Police on Monday detained 459 Congress workers and senior leaders, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K C Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, for not following police directions for the maintenance of law and order in the national capital, officials said.

They also said that allegations of manhandling and injuries to protesting Congress leaders during police action will be diligently looked into.

Hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi took to the streets and several senior leaders were detained amid a massive show of strength by the party which had called for a Satyagrah march against the Enforcement Directorate's questioning of its former president Rahul Gandhi in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper.

The opposition party alleged that some of its leaders were manhandled by the police. It lashed out at the government for 'not allowing' peaceful protests.

Taking to Twitter, senior Congress leader P Chidambaran said, 'When three big, burly policemen crash into you, you are lucky to get away with a suspected hairline crack! Doctors have said that if there is a hairline crack, it will heal by itself in about 10 days. I am fine and I will go about my work tomorrow.' In a tweet, party MP Manickam Tagore B alleged Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana wanted to 'punish women Congress leaders for standing for justice'.

Despite being denied permission, Congress leaders gathered for the protest in different parts of Delhi on Monday.

They were detained from Akbar Road, where the Congress headquarters are situated, Q Point APJ Kalam Road and Man Singh Road and taken to the Mandir Marg, Tughlak Road and Fatehpur Beri police stations respectively.

The police, however, said the entry of 100 senior leaders and staff of the All India Congress Committee, whose names were to be provided in advance, was allowed into the party headquarters through the Akbar Road and Maulana Azad Road roundabout.

The Delhi Police said 15 Lok Sabha MPs including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, 11 Rajya Sabha members including K C Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, five MLAs from different states and party functionaries were among the 459 people detained in New Delhi district for not following lawful directions of the police for the maintenance of law and order.

All woman workers and functionaries of the Congress detained by the police have been released and suitable legal action is being taken against those who violated orders promulgated under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a senior police official said.

'Complaints have been received about injuries to Congress leaders and workers during police action. But no such incident of use of force by police took place as per our knowledge and no MLC case has been reported so far,' said Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Zone -II Delhi).

'Still, if there are allegations of some manhandling during the detention, the same will diligently be looked into for appropriate action,' he said.

According to the police statement, adequate arrangements were made over apprehensions that a huge gathering of Congress leaders and workers may disturb the security and safety of the VIPs, ED office, its officers, neighbouring offices, residences and the public, etc.

'CrPC Section 144 is already in force with effect from May 24 this year in the area, thereby prohibiting the holding of any public meeting, processions and demonstration,' it said.

The AICC secretary, in a letter to the police, had assured that a crowd will not accompany Rahul Gandhi to the ED office. But as soon as Gandhi left 24 Akbar Road for the ED office, Congress leaders, functionaries and workers accompanied him in the form of a procession, the statement said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)