RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Feb.18: Rajya Sabha member Deepak Prakash, who had planned to visit Barhi to pay homage to Rupesh Pandey, had to cut his visit short after the Hazaribagh district administration did not allow him to enter the district.
Prakash, who was stopped around 10.30am, returned to the state capital at 4.30pm. He, however, did not miss paying homage to Pandey.
“I arranged a picture of Pandey and offered my floral tribute with other senior leaders after my all effort to enter the district turned futile,” Prakash said after he returned from Hazaribagh border in the evening.
Asked Superintendent of Police of the district Manoj Ratan reason behind the same, he said: “Section 144 was clamped in the district on the direction of the SDO and we had a direction to enforce it.”
Asked how Prakash accompanied by two other leaders in a car came under the purview of section 144, SP Ratan suggested talking to the SDO and the DC of the district.
Contacted SDO Vidya Bhusan Kumar for his comment he expressed his inability saying he was not authorised to give a statement. He suggested talking to DC Aditya Kumar Anand.
DC Anand could not be contacted for his comment despite several attempts.
Prakash said he also did not get any satisfactory reply from the DC.
