A Congress worker died during the party’s protest near the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday. The man, identified as Prabhat Kumar Pandey, 31, was living in a rented room in Gomti Nagar.

The Congress was protesting against the Uttar Pradesh government over several issues, including unemployment and inflation.

His uncle, Manish Pandey, filed a complaint at Hussainganj Police Station and claimed that Prabhat was killed. He said in the complaint that he received a call from the Congress office at around 4.15 pm on Wednesday that Prabhat was lying unconscious in the office.

The caller said that Prabhat had been “lying there for over two hours”.

“After that, I immediately sent my relative Sandeep to the office where he saw Prabhat and told me that his feet had become cold. He was then rushed to the Civil Hospital in a car, where he was declared dead,” Manish said.

He said that he didn’t know how Prabhat had reached the Congress office.

“My nephew did not have any illness at all, but it seems that something untoward has happened to him. I think he might have been murdered,” Manish said in the complaint.

Police said that the body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is on. Lucknow Police said that no force was used on protesters during the demonstration at the Congress office. They asked people not to spread any rumours about the incident.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Lucknow) Raveena Tyagi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that there were no visible marks on Prabhat’s body.

Another Congress worker, Mridul Islam, died during a protest rally in Assam’s Guwahati.

CONGRESS LEADERS CLAIM WORKERS DIED DUE TO POLICE BRUTALITY

Congress leaders condemned both deaths and said that both workers had died due to police brutality.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Assam of “murdering democracy and the Constitution”.

He said in a post on X, “Democracy and Constitution have been murdered again in BJP ruled Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Across the country, the Congress party is conducting Satyagraha in support of Babasaheb and the Constitution. During this, the death of our Congress workers Mridul Islam in Guwahati and Prabhat Pandey in Lucknow due to excessive police force is very sad and condemnable.”

“The lions of Congress will continue to fight for truth and the Constitution,” he added.

Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also claimed that the workers died due to police brutality and said in a post on X, “The way the BJP governments have taken repressive action against Congress workers is reminiscent of the British Raj. The BJP is attacking Babasaheb in Parliament and crushing his Constitution on the streets,” she said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also condemned the incident and said in a post on X, “Congress party has a long history of sacrifices for the nation, and we shall not forgive the dictatorial attitude of this tyrannical regime. BJP is squarely responsible for their deaths. We will keep fighting for Democracy and to uphold the Constitution.”

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday evening, Uttar Pradesh Congress Chief Ajay Rai was quoted as saying by PTI that the Congress workers were marching towards the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow, when police personnel used excessive force, leading to the death of Prabhat Pandey.

He further accused the state government of trying to suppress dissent through oppressive measures.

“The police brutality reflects the repressive tactics of the Yogi government,” he said.

Rai said that the Congress would provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to Prabhat’s family.

He demanded action against the personnel responsible for the deaths of the workers.

(With inputs from Santosh Sharma)