Rahul Gandhi Convoy Accident: UP Police Set Up SIT To Probe Security Lapses

Lucknow, Oct 26 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the accident involving vehicles trailing the convoy of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Sultanpur.

The investigation will examine the circumstances and causes of the accident and determine whether there was any negligence or lapse in security, escort arrangements or traffic management, a statement said.

The SIT has been directed to conduct a comprehensive probe into all aspects of the incident and submit a detailed report to the police headquarters at the earliest.

The probe team will be headed by Inspector General of Police, Lucknow Range, Kiran S. Additional Superintendent of Police, Sultanpur, Brij Narayan Singh, and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Sultanpur, Ram Krishna Chaturvedi, will also be part of the SIT.

The SIT was constituted on the directions of UP Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident, officials said.

The team has also been tasked with suggesting measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the statement said.

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

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was safe, the officer said, adding the incident was not serious and no major injuries were reported.

The incident occurred around 10.15 am when a private vehicle at the front of the convoy, belonging to local Congress leaders, suddenly applied the brakes for an unspecified reason, causing vehicles behind it to collide with one another, the officer told PTI.

The vehicles involved in the pile-up had joined the convoy midway with passengers, including Congress workers from neighbouring Amethi district, police said.

(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)