Fresh FIR against Rahul, Priyanka for 'assaulting' cops at INDIA bloc protest

The fresh Delhi Police FIR also accuses Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of obstructing government work during the INDIA bloc protest on Wednesday.Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been accused of assaulting cops during yesterday's protests. (PTI Photo)Delhi Police has registered a fresh FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly assaulting police personnel and obstructing government work during the INDIA bloc protest on Wednesday, sources said on Thursday.The case comes a day after Delhi Police registered a separate FIR against the two Congress leaders and their supporters over allegations that they forcibly entered Akashvani Bhawan after being stopped from marching to the Election Commission headquarters.Meanwhile, the Opposition alliance is gearing up for a bigger protest today, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR controversy.The fresh FIR also names several other Congress leaders and party workers who took part in Wednesday’s protest. After a lunch meeting at Sagar Ratna in Janpath, Opposition leaders and their supporters boarded buses for Jantar Mantar to stage a sit-in.Police, however, stopped them midway, following which the protesters staged a sit-in at a roundabout near the Shangri-La hotel in central Delhi, triggering the intense face-off. Priyanka Gandhi and several women leaders lay on the road carrying a copy of the Constitution as security personnel gathered and began removing the protesters.Rahul Gandhi was initially removed by security personnel and carried on their shoulders before being put inside a police bus.Several Congress leaders, including Amarinder Singh, Raja Warring and Udai Bhanu Chib, climbed atop the bus carrying Rahul Gandhi, while Mumtaz Patel sat on its bonnet as police attempted to move the vehicle.A large contingent of women police personnel later removed Priyanka Gandhi and the other women protesters from the road and put them into buses.A total of 91 people were detained during the protest. They were, however, released shortly at around 8 pm.AKASHVANI BHAVAN CASETuesday's FIR was based on a complaint alleging that the Gandhi siblings, their supporters and other MPs accompanying them entered the Akashvani Bhawan next to the Election Commission without permission.Two security guards at the premises also underwent medico-legal examinations after allegedly sustaining injuries when Congress MPs and their supporters tried to enter the premises forcibly, officials said.Police also photographed portions of the premises after some walls were reportedly damaged during the sit-in protest.The exact charges in that FIR have not been disclosed.Asked about the FIR, Rahul Gandhi said, “I have 45 FIRs against me. My target is that there should be 100 FIRs against me. Every FIR against me is a medal for me.”On Tuesday, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were among around 260 people detained after the over eight-hour sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan.The October 6 march had been planned from Parliament House to the Election Commission office.Delhi Police had said no application seeking permission for the march was submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, and no permission had been granted.- Ends(With PTI inputs)