Rahul Gandhi arrested

International Desk: Amidst high drama, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders were arrested after they were placed under preventive custody on Thursday, 56 km from riot-hit Pipliamandi area of Mandsaur district, the epicentre of farmers' protest where the leaders were heading.

Gandhi, along with JDU leader Sharad Yaadav and Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath, were kept at Vikram Tent House, which was converted into a temporary jail, in Nayagaon.

"I squarely blame Modi and the chief minister (Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the killing of farmers)," Gandhi told reporters, before being whisked away by the police.

"Country's Prime Minster Narendra Modi can waive off Rs 1.50 lakh crore worth loans of the richest people of India, but can't pay heed to the plight of farmers. He can only give bullets to them," said Rahul.

Gandhi, who reached Udaipur on a chartered flight from New Delhi, moved towards Nimbaheda area on road in a cavalcade, stopping at several spots to meet Congress workers.

In what seems to be a premeditated plan to dodge police and enter Madhya Pradesh at Neemuch, Gandhi jumped off his SUV and rode pillion on a motorcycle with party MLA from Rau, Jitu Ptwari, at Ranikheda Square in Nimbaheda.

After some time, he returned to Neemuch and started took a different towards Nayagaon. At the first toll point, Rahul got down from the motorcycle and walked towards the booth where over 700 policemen, including the rapid action force, had put up a blockade.

Seeing Rahul Gandhi approaching, the police advanced the blockade near a railway crossing. Gandhi and his supporters tried to evade police by running on the tracks and getting into agriculture fields, but police caught them

Gandhi held heated discussions with the police and moved towards a cemetery, but was taken into custody.

Apart from Gandhi and Patwari, Congress leaders Shobha Ojha, Mohan Prakash and Jaivardhan Singh, were also taken into custody.

A few minutes later, Digvijay Singh, Kamal Nath and Sharad Yadav reached the spot and questioned police's move to detain them.

"I have been chief minister of this state. They (Kamal Nath and Yadav) have been union ministers. Do you think we are here to instigate violence?" Singh asked the police.

Yadav claimed that they were moving towards Pipliamandi in Mandsaur to meet the family members of the farmers who lost lives in police firing. "If police feel we will create unrest, they can escort us in their vehicles to Pipliamandi," he said, before being taken into custody.

Five farmers were killed in firing during farmers' protest in Pipliamandi area on June 6, prompting the administration to clamp curfew in Mandsaur.

Agencies

risingbd/DHAKA/June 8, 2017/Amirul