Massive traffic jam at Ghazipur border due to Rahul's visit to Sambhal

New Delhi: A massive traffic jam was witnessed on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway at the Ghazipur border as Congress workers gathered there defying heavy barricading ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has put up barricades and started checking vehicles to prevent any untoward incident.

"We have input about the gathering on the highway. We have deployed security personnel to prevent any untoward incident," Assistant Commissioner of Police Swatantra Kumar Singh told PTI videos.

With prohibitory orders in place in Sambhal, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will be stopped at the UP gate in Ghaziabad on his way to the district, a senior police officer said.

Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.

"We will not permit Rahul Gandhi to Sambhal as prohibitory orders have been issued by the administration there. Police will stop Gandhi at UP gate," Ghaziabad Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra told PTI.

A Congress delegation led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit the violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday. He will be accompanied by five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh. Newly-elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also likely to be part of the delegation.

Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19, when a Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on court orders following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.

Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed in the violence and many more were injured.