Over two dozen Samajwadi Party leaders were placed under house arrest on Saturday to stop them from visiting Bareilly to probe the September 26 violence.

Among those detained were leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Maha Prasad Pandey, and MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq.

“A 15-member SP delegation was supposed to visit Bareilly and conduct an inquiry into last month’s violence. But the government didn’t want us to go because the violence was organised by the police against the people. The state government knows we can expose them,” said Pandey, nominated by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to head the delegation.

“A sub-inspector came to me and said that a force has been deployed at my gate to stop me from going out,” he told reporters at his residence in Lucknow.

In Sambhal, Barq said: “Unfortunately, the police have not told me the reason behind my house arrest. The government is anti-people and suppressing voices of dissent.”

Police also stopped several MPs, including Harendra Malik, Iqra Hasan and Mohibbullah Nadvi, who were travelling from New Delhi to Bareilly, at UP Gate in Ghaziabad and forced them to return.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya said: “The SP leaders are indulging in theatrics to stay relevant. People know they are trying to appease Muslims, but their trick will not work. We will finish the SP in the 2027 Assembly polls.”