FIR against 28 for blocking highway

Lucknow: Police have registered an FIR against three named individuals and 25 unidentified persons for allegedly blocking the Lucknow-Kanpur National Highway in Sarojininagar area, protesting the closure of an illegal road cut by traffic authorities. The FIR registered late on Friday came to light on Saturday.According to the complaint filed by sub-inspector Avneesh Verma of Sarojininagar police station, the incident took place on April 9 at around 6pm. At the time, the officer was on law and order and VVIP duty in the airport area when he received information that local residents had blocked the highway at Farrukhabad–Chillawan stretch. The protest was triggered after the traffic police, as part of an enforcement drive, used a crane to close an unauthorised cut on the highway divider.Acting on the information, Verma, along with a police team including SIs Neeshu Chaudhary and Abhishek Tripathi and constable Sumit Kumar, reached the spot. They coordinated with traffic personnel, including TSI Vinod Kumar Singh and head constable Ramkumar Maurya, and attempted to pacify the protesters and restore traffic movement.However, the situation escalated as the crowd allegedly refused to disperse. Police have named Manik Chandra Tiwari, Rakesh (a grocery store owner), and Brijendra Sharma alias Pappu as key accused, alleging that they, along with 20-25 others, deliberately blocked the highway, raised slogans and disrupted vehicular movement.The officer stated in the FIR that despite repeated appeals by police, the protesters continued the blockade, forcing authorities to call for additional force to bring the situation under control. The highway was eventually cleared after intervention by senior officials and reinforcement.Police maintained that the illegal cut had been sealed due to frequent road accidents and persistent traffic disruptions caused by its usage. The closure was part of a broader traffic regulation drive aimed at improving road safety on the busy Lucknow-Kanpur route.ACP Sarojininagar, Rajneesh Verma said that an FIR was registered under the charges of unlawful assembly, obstructing public way and disrupting traffic. Further investigation is underway to identify the remaining participants involved in the protest.