TMC delegation on its way to Sonbhadra stopped at Varanasi airport, prevented from meeting victims' kin

A parliamentary delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by party leader and Derek O' Brien, which was on its way to Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district to meet the families of those affected in the firing earlier this week, was stopped at the Varanasi airport here on Saturday.

Senior officials including Varanasi District Magistrate and SSP reached the airport to meet the delegation.

Derek O' Brien released a video message in which he said, "We just landed at Varanasi airport. The ADM and SP are here. They told us that we have been detained. We told them it cannot be 144 because there is only three of us. We told them we intend to visit the trauma centre to meet the injured and then we wish to go to the spot of the incident. "

Condemning the prohibition of its delegation from leaving the airport, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said that police has detained the delegation and was not allowing them to meet the Sonbhadra firing incident victims.

"Trinamool Parliamentary delegation detained at Varanasi airport. ADM, SP has not told us under which section. ("Doing as told from topmost").We have told them that we will cooperate, wish to meet injured & then proceed to Sonbhadra to meet and give confidence to grieving families", AITC official account tweeted.

The development comes after Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained at Mirzapur and taken to Chunar Guest House and stopped by police from visiting the kin of those affected in Sobhadra firing.

Meanwhile, Priyanka who has been staying at the guesthouse since yesterday took to Twitter to once again voice her wish to meet the kin of the firing incident victims.

Sharing a 26-second video of Sonbhadra firing incident victim's grieving family members, she wrote, "Is washing these tears a crime?".

The Sonbhadra firing incident took place, earlier this week, in Ubbha village of Ghorawal where the village head went to take possession of his land purchased two years ago. However, he met with opposition from the villagers which triggered the firing allegedly by his aides leading to the deaths of around nine persons.