Guwahati: Several people, including Congress workers and security personnel, were injured after five vehicles in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s convoy collided with an ambulance on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, October 26. Gandhi was reported to be safe.
According to police, the accident occurred near Haliyapur, around 100 km from Lucknow. The five vehicles involved were travelling at the rear of the convoy.
CCTV footage from the site showed the ambulance moving along the right-hand fast lane, while several vehicles were clustered in the adjacent lanes. The visuals also showed a Scorpio SUV with its bonnet badly damaged following the collision, apparently coming to a halt in front of the ambulance.
Gandhi had arrived at Lucknow airport earlier in the day, from where his convoy proceeded towards Sultanpur, located around 135 km away. The collision took place when the convoy was approximately 35 km from its destination.
The Congress leader was scheduled to appear before a special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur in connection with a defamation case over alleged objectionable remarks about Amit Shah, who was the BJP president at the time. His presence was required for the pronouncement of the court’s verdict, which was expected on Monday.
The case dates back to August 4, 2018, when BJP leader Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed a complaint against Gandhi over the alleged remarks.
The comments were reportedly made during a campaign rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.