Lucknow:  Hours before polling in the  fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharati landed at the Panwari police station to demand the release of three RSS workers, who were picked up on the suspicion that they were distributing money in the Gaurari village in Ms Bharati's constituency.

Ms Bharti also sat on a dharna outside the police station, alleging that the police had detained her supporters at the behest of a false complaint by a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) worker.

The three people are RSS functionaries from the adjoining district of Banda.

In their defence, the men claim that the Rs 9000 recovered from them was for the purpose of purchasing the idol of a deity cast in stone.

When word got around that the three had been detained and were being questioned by the police, Ms Bharati landed at the police station. Later, a mob of more than 400 people gathered at the police station. Ms Bharati demanded immediate release of the three men. After hectic negotiations with the District Magistrate (DM) and the Superintendent of Police (SP), the three men were released.

After releasing the three men, DM of Mahoba district, Muthu Kumar said that the men were allowed to walk free as Ms Bharati's constituency Charkhari was barely hours away from polling.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Ms Bharati had another run-in with the Election Commission officials when she decided to head out into her constituency for Jan Sampark or direct people-to-people contact. After taking out a procession that many say resembled a road show of sorts through the Kulpahad area, Ms Bharati was stopped by a magistrate level officer, who denied her entry into the Panwari area of her constituency.
 
She, however, managed to convince the district magistrate by giving him an assurance that she will only be accompanied by four people. But as she headed out, the numbers rose and she was asked to discontinue her door-to-door campaign.

(With inputs from PTI)

Tags: Assembly elections 2012, Uma Bharati, Uttar Pradesh