Rahul, Priyanka stopped by police from entering Meerut to meet kin of deceased protesters

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were on Tuesday stopped by police from entering Meerut on their way to meet the families of those who died during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The two had requested that they, along with another Congress leader, be allowed to meet the families, but were denied entry, Congress sources said in Delhi.

The Gandhis were stopped near Partapur police station. "We asked the police to show us order, but they did not show any order for stopping us and told us to return," Rahul Gandhi told reporters. At least five protesters died in Meerut alone.

Later, senior state Congress leaders Imran Masood and Pankaj Malik met the victims' families. A Congress spokesperson said that the Gandhis will again try to meet the families on Wednesday.

Priyanka Gandhi had on Sunday met the families of some of the protesters who died in Bijnor. Seventeen people are reported to have died in Uttar Pradesh during protests against the new citizenship law.

A four-member Trinamool Congress delegation, which was scheduled to meet the grieving families of those killed in Uttar Pradesh during protests over the new citizenship law, was also detained at Lucknow airport on Sunday afternoon.