Restrictions keep Som away from addressing mahapanchayat

Ghaziabad: Controversial BJP leader Sangeet Som was on Tuesday kept away from addressing a mahapanchayat over residents of Loni area allegedly trying to evict a family with police invoking section 144 of CrPC that bans the assembly of four or more persons.
“Members of two families had an altercation over some issue on November 29. One of the families was under a lot of stress after the incident. Som was supposed to address a mahapanchayat in Loni area in this regard,” Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said. Som’s cavalcade was intercepted by a police team in Teela Sahahbazpur village. He was told that prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were in place in the area and therefore, the mahapanchayat cannot be held, Kumar said. “Som, the BJP MLA from Sardhana, accompanied the family which came to meet me and demanded a probe into the matter. I have assured them of an inquiry into it,” the SP said.
Local BJP leader Nand Kishore Gujjar said: “After the clash on November 29, some people started pressuring one of the families to move out of the area. We had called a mahapanchayat, which was to be addressed by Som, to seek justice for the family.” “However, police did not allow us to go on with the mahapanchayat, citing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC imposed in the area,” he claimed. Gujjar said that some of the BJP and Bajrang Dal members also protested against police not allowing the mahapanchayat. (PTI)