Priyanka leaves for Sonbhadra to meet Gond tribals' kin

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday met party workers at Varanasi airport before leaving for Sonbhadra to meet family members of the 10 Gond tribals gunned down over a land dispute last month.

During her visit to Sonbhadra district's Umbha village, the site of the July 17 massacre, she will talk to the affected families about development in the village and try to get a first-hand account of the steps taken by the government for their security, party sources said.

The party leaders and workers gave a warm welcome to Gandhi on her arrival at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport here around 10 am.

Later, she left for Sonbhadra by road.

Ten people were gunned down and 28 others injured when armed men led by a village pradhan clashed with the Gond tribals in a bid to take possession of a disputed piece of land.

The Congress leader had tried to visit the village after the massacre but was denied permission by the district administration which had promulgated section 144 of the CrPC in view of the prevailing tension.

After meeting those injured in the Varanasi hospital, she was stopped and detained in Mirzapur on her way to Umbha. She was detained for the night by the district administration at the Chunar fort on July 19.

The members of tribal community had met Priyanka Gandhi the next day. The Congress leader had promised monetary help to the affected families which was handed over to them by a delegation of party leaders later.