5 Cars In Rahul Gandhi's Convoy Collide With Ambulance On UP Expressway

Several people were injured after five vehicles in a convoy of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi collided with an ambulance on Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh.

The five vehicles involved in the accident at Haliyapur, 100 km from the state capital Lucknow, were at the rear of the convoy, the police said. Gandhi is safe.

The injured people include party workers and security personnel.

CCTV grab of the accident site showed the ambulance on the right fast lane, with many vehicles bunched up in the other lanes.

A Scorpio SUV with its hood pushed in due to the impact seemed to have stopped in front of the ambulance after the collision, the visuals showed.

Gandhi had landed at Lucknow airport earlier today. From there, his convoy started moving towards Sultanpur some 135 km away. The accident happened when they were about 35 km from their destination.

In Sultanpur, he was scheduled to appear before a special MP-MLA court in connection with a defamation case involving alleged objectionable remarks against Amit Shah when he was BJP chief.

With the court expected to give its verdict today, the Congress MP's physical presence was needed for the pronouncement of the judgment.

The defamation case dates back to August 4, 2018, when BJP leader Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed a complaint against Gandhi over his alleged remarks about Amit Shah.

The alleged remarks were made during a campaign rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections.