Global General

Indian police briefly detain Sonia Gandhi's son

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-12 13:57

LUCKNOW - An Indian regional government official says police briefly detained the son of ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi after he joined a farmers' protest over land compensation.

Shashank Shekhar Singh says that Congress party lawmaker Rahul Gandhi was detained in a village in Uttar Pradesh state and later sent back to the capital New Delhi on Thursday.

He says Gandhi was taking part in the protest by farmers who say the state government is not giving them adequate compensation for land bought to build a $2 billion highway.

On Saturday, violent clashes in the area on the outskirts of the Indian capital killed four people.

The farmers want the government to pay them $31 per square foot for land. They were paid between $10 to $18 per square foot.