NEW DELHI: A Congress worker died during a demonstration near the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday, with the party’s Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai blaming “police brutality” for the death.
Meanwhile, in Assam, another Congress worker died after allegedly being exposed to suffocating tear gas smoke during a protest.
The Uttar Pradesh incident involved 28-year-old Prabhat Pandey, a native of Gorakhpur. According to police, Pandey was brought unconscious to the Civil Hospital in Hazratganj, where he was declared dead on arrival.
“Prabhat Pandey was brought to the Civil Hospital from the Congress office in an unconscious state. The doctors declared him brought dead,” said DCP (Central Lucknow) Raveena Tyagi.
“There were no visible injury marks on his body, and a post-mortem examination will be conducted by a panel under videographic surveillance,” Tyagi added.
Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress President, alleged police brutality behind Prabhat’s death. Rai said in a post on X, “Today, while going to gherao the assembly, our young colleague Prabhat Pandey ji passed away due to police brutality.”
Meanwhile, a Congress worker in Assam, Advocate Mridul Islam, succumbed to injuries after allegedly being exposed to tear gas during a protest in Guwahati. The protest, organized by the Congress, focused on issues including the unrest in Manipur, allegations of bribery against the Adani Group, and the installation of smart meters in Assam.
Islam, who reportedly felt suffocated after a tear gas shell exploded nearby, was rushed to a private hospital and later transferred to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he was declared dead.
Party spokesperson Bedabrat Bora claimed, “Mridul Islam was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital and then to GMCH. He was declared dead there.”
However, the police provided a different account. Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah clarified that the police did not fire tear gas shells, but rather rolled three shells on the road to disperse the crowd.
“The tear gas shells were not fired. We only rolled them to release smoke and disperse the crowd,” Barah stated.
Despite this, Bora, citing the testimony of several party members, insisted that the protest had been peaceful, and Islam’s death was a direct result of the “excessive use of tear gas.”
The protest, organized as part of a nationwide Congress campaign, saw clashes between police and party supporters. Senior Congress leaders, including Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, were detained briefly after falling to the ground during scuffles with the police.
A total of around 10 people sustained injuries during the protest, according to party sources.
While the police stated that no lathi-charge or excessive force had been used during the protest, the Congress party called the incident “homicidal” and sought compensation for the families of the deceased workers.