Congress Alleges 'Police Brutality' After Party Worker Dies During Protest In Lucknow

The Congress on Wednesday said that a 28-year-old party worker from Gorakhpur died during the party’s protest in Lucknow, alleging that “police brutality" was the reason behind his death. The worker was identified as Prabhat Pandey, who lived in a PG in Gomti Nagar.

The Congress staged a protest against the UP government near the state assembly in Lucknow over several issues like unemployment, electricity privatisation and Amit Shah’s recent remarks in the Parliament on Dr BR Ambedkar. Police maintained tight security in the area to prevent disruptions near the assembly. Simultaneous protests were held in Jammu, Guwahati and Patna.

The party alleged that Pandey, who also took part in the protest, died after he was injured in a clash with the police. “During the scuffle with police, Youth Congress worker Prabhat Pandey died… The responsibility for this lies with the Yogi Adityanath government and the state police," said Congress leader Ajay Rai, demanding financial aid of Rs 1 crore and a government job for Pandey’s family.