UP Police forms SIT to look into Sultanpur collision involving vehicles in Rahul’s convoy

Incident occurred when the Congress MP was on his way to MP-MLA court to attend proceedings in 2018 defamation case against him over remarks on Amit Shah. He was acquitted.

Some vehicles in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's convoy collided on the Purvanchal Expressway Monday, while he was on his way to Sultanpur for a court hearing in a defamation case against him | PTI Photo

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the circumstances leading to the collision involving vehicles in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s convoy and an ambulance on the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur Monday.

The incident occurred earlier in the day, when the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition was travelling to the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur to attend proceedings in a 2018 defamation case against him over remarks on BJP’s Amit Shah, in which he was then acquitted.

Gandhi was safe and no serious injuries were reported in the incident. Three vehicles were, however, damaged.

Neither Gandhi nor the Congress has filed a complaint in connection with the incident. However, the collision raised questions about possible lapses in security arrangements.

Preliminary inputs suggest that the collision took place near milestone 89.5 on Purvanchal Expressway, within the jurisdiction of the Haliyapur police station in Sultanpur district, ThePrint has learnt.  The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.

Taking serious note of the incident, the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) ordered the formation of an SIT to conduct a comprehensive investigation, according to an official statement. The SIT will investigate circumstances leading to the collision, examine security arrangements, escort protocol and traffic management, and ascertain if there was any negligence or lapse.

Inspector General of Police (IG) Kiran S. will lead the team, while Sultanpur Additional Superintendent of Police Brij Narayan Singh and Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Krishna Chaturvedi have been appointed as its members.

The team has been directed to identify any lapses, suggest measures to prevent similar incidents in future, and submit its report to police headquarters at the earliest.

Sources said that if negligence is established at any level, action could be taken against the officials and personnel responsible.