No Security Lapse In Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra: Jammu And Kashmir Police

Srinagar:

After the Congress alleged lapses in safety arrangments within the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Jammu & Kashmir Police on Friday mentioned that it was not consulted earlier than taking any choice on discontinuation of the yatra after 1 km by the organisers.

Taking to Twitter, the Jammu & Kashmir Police mentioned, “JKP was not consulted before taking any decision on discontinuation of Yatra after conducting 1 km yatra by organizers. The rest of yatra continued #peacefully. There was no security lapse at all. We will provide foolproof security.”

“Only authorised persons identified by organisers and the frisked crowd were allowed inside towards the route of Yatra,” the police added.

The police additional said, “Organisers and managers of BJY did not intimate about large gatherings from Banihal joining the Yatra, which thronged near the starting point.”

“Full security arrangements were in place including 15 Coys of CAPFs and 10 Coys of JKP, comprising of ROPs and QRTs, route domination, lateral deployment and SFs were deployed for high-ridge and other deployments,” it added.

On Friday, Congress In-Charge of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Rajani Patil alleged safety lapses in Congress chief Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, and accused the administration of the Union Territory of failing to handle the gang.

“J&K UT Administration failed to provide security to Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. Security lapses indicate the unfair and unprepared attitude of the UT administration. Office Of LG J-K,” Rajani Patil mentioned in a tweet together with an image from the spot.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal mentioned that there was no safety personnel with the Bharat Jodo Yatra for quarter-hour, and termed it a ‘severe lapse’.

“The security has been mishandled by concerned agencies here. For 15 mins, there have been no security officers with the Bharat Jodo Yatra here. This is a serious lapse. Rahul Gandhi and other yatris cannot walk without security,” Venugopal mentioned talking to mediapersons.

Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is in its ultimate leg in Jammu & Kashmir, resumed on Friday morning from the National Highway-44, Banihal Railway station, within the UT’s Ramban district.

Security was tightened within the space within the wake of the current twin blasts on the outskirts of Jammu metropolis on January 22 which rocked a busy locality in Narwal leaving atleast 9 folks injured.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after protecting 3,970 km, 12 states and two Union territories. The stories of the Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s safety breach have come to the fore.

A safety breach emerged on the Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 17 when an unknown man got here out of the gang and tried to hug Rahul Gandhi in Tanda in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district. However, Gandhi later termed him “excited” and mentioned it was the folks’s enthusiasm.

Earlier on January 4, the Congress wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging “security breaches” within the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered the nationwide capital on December 24.

Congress basic secretary KC Venugopal in a letter to the Centre mentioned the Delhi Police behaved like “mute spectators”, and utterly failed to manage the surging crowd and preserve a fringe round Rahul Gandhi, who’s assigned Z+ safety.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)