Two Bahujan Samaj Party men arrested in connection with Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi's security breach in Faizabad late Thursday night, were released on Friday.
"We decided to let them off after questioning, which revealed nothing suspicious about them," District Magistrate Amod Kumar told rediff.com over telephone from Faizabad, about 130 km from Lucknow.
"We checked their addresses and other credentials; since nothing adverse was found against them, we released the duo after a warning for carrying weapons while section 144 was in force in the district on account of the on-going elections," he said.
In what was being seen as a security breach of Congress parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi, the Faizabad police had taken into custody the two BSP men -- identified as Pyare lal Jatav and Sangram Jatav -- staying in the same hotel as the VVIP after they were found in possession of a pistol and a revolver.
Both the men had been camping in Faizabad's Krishna Palace hotel since April 27 and were engaged in organising the BSP election campaign in Faizabad.
The DM admitted, "Both held valid licences for their weapons; their only offence was violation of prohibitory orders under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code, which disallows carrying of firearms in any public place."
Much commotion prevailed in Faizabad, which was already rated among the "hyper-sensitive" districts on account of being a twin-city of Ayodhya, the ancient Hindu temple town widely known for the contentious Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid controversy.
However, an unfazed Rahul undertook a casual late night walk along with his late father's friend and parliamentarian Satish Sharma who has been accompanying him all through his whirlwind campaign across Uttar Pradesh, where a seven-phased state assembly election was on its last legs.