SP leader served notice over UP CM house gherao threat

Lucknow, Dec 21 (PTI) The Lucknow Police has issued a notice to Samajwadi Party leader Sumaiya Rana ordering her to appear before a court on Monday following her threat to picket the official residence of the chief minister.

The notice was sent by the Kaiserbagh Assistant Commissioner of Police/Executive Magistrate.

It states that Rana or her advocate should appear before the court and explain why a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of the same amount should not be taken from her to maintain peace for a period of one year.

According to police, Rana had called for the gherao of the state assembly and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removing the veil of a female doctor.

The SP leader also took exception to UP government minister Sanjay Nishad's support of Nitish Kumar.

Police said the threat stoked apprehension of a breach of peace during the legislative session underway.

On Friday, Rana, the national vice-president of the Samajwadi Party Mahila Sabha, accused the police of placing her under house arrest, an allegation refuted by ACP Ratnesh Singh.

"I have been under house arrest since yesterday. The (Kaiserbagh) police are not registering the FIR. Since I also belong to the same community and wear a veil, I feel the pain of this incident," Rana had told PTI on Friday.

The SP leader filed a complaint at Lucknow's Kaiserbagh Police Station on December 16, seeking police action against Nitish Kumar.

On December 15, a newly recruited AYUSH doctor in Bihar was taken aback when Nitish Kumar pulled the niqab (veil) off her face when she was receiving her letter of appointment.

The incident, a video clip of which has gone viral on social media, took place at Samvad, the CM's secretariat, where appointment letters were given away to more than 1,000 AYUSH doctors. PTI AR NAV VN VN