Gurgaon: Congress functionary Pankaj Dawar was placed under house arrest, after the Congress party’s ‘Chalo PM House’ protest in Delhi. On Wedesday, after Dawar’s house arrest ended, he was ordered to stay in the city and not to travel to Delhi.In Faridabad, police placed a few Congress functionaries under house arrest on Wednesday, besides detaining a former MLA.Local police, led by Shivaji Nagar SHO inspector Devender, reached Congress district president (urban) Dawar’s residence in Prem Nagar around 10pm on Tuesday and prevented him from leaving his house. Two policemen remained deployed outside his residence till around 5.30am on Wednesday.Dawar was served a notice under Section 168 of BNSS, which empowers police to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence, directing him not to participate in the Congress protest.This happened hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk — at the centre of the youth protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) — was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Tuesday following a Delhi high court order.“Shivaji Nagar SHO, along with five or six police personnel, came to my house and served me a notice. They confined me to my house and directed me not to participate in the Congress protest outside the PM’s house. It is unfortunate because it is our democratic right to move freely across the country. While the SHO left after serving the notice, two policemen remained deployed outside my house to keep a watch on my movements. They again returned to my house in the evening to check my whereabouts,” Dawar told TOI.Police also visited the residences of other Congress functionaries, including district Youth Congress president Abhishek Yadav. However, they were already in Delhi to join senior party functionaries Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the protest.“I returned to my house in Babupur after midnight and then learnt that police came looking for me. I was already in Delhi, so they could not stop me. They also visited the houses of a few other party workers,” Yadav said.Meanwhile, Faridabad police on Wednesday detained former Congress MLA Neeraj Sharma after he allegedly refused to comply with police directions not to travel to Delhi.“Earlier, I was placed under house arrest till 5pm. Policemen from Saran police station came to my house around 9.30am on Wednesday and stopped me from going to Delhi. They remained at my house till 5pm. Later, when I told them I had to meet MP Deepender Singh Hooda in Delhi, they served me a notice stating that I was being detained because I refused to remain at home,” Sharma told TOI.Police detained Sharma under Section 172 of BNSS, which requires compliance with lawful directions issued by a police officer. According to the notice served on him, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS had been imposed in Delhi in view of the CJP protest, the Congress demonstration and the farmers’ protest. The notice said that Sharma was detained after he refused to remain in Faridabad despite police directions.
