In the heart of Uttar Pradesh, near the state assembly, the death of Congress party worker Prabhat Pandey amidst a protest rattled the city. The subsequent postmortem divulged notable findings that raised eyebrows. Remarkably, the report indicated the absence of any visible injuries on Prabhat's body.
Ajay Rai, the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit, accused the police of brutality leading to the demise of their member when they attempted to besiege the Vidhan Bhavan. Police sources confirmed that Prabhat Pandey, aged 28 from Gorakhpur, was brought lifeless to the hospital from the Congress office.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Lucknow) Raveena Tyagi, Prabhat was transported to the Civil Hospital in Hazratganj in an unconscious state from the Congress office. The medical staff there proclaimed him dead upon arrival.
Tyagi stated, “Preliminary examination by doctors found no injuries on Prabhat Pandey's body. A panel will conduct a thorough postmortem, accompanied by videography, and legal proceedings will follow based on the findings.”
Taking to social media platform 'X', State Congress President Rai expressed, “As we moved towards the assembly for our protest, our young colleague Prabhat Pandey fell victim to police brutality. This incident is incredibly tragic and deplorable, leaving our Congress family anguished and enraged. We refuse to let this go unchallenged. The Yogi government must provide the bereaved family with a compensation of one crore rupees and a government job to one family member.”
The Congress workers were demonstrating against issues like farmers' distress, unemployment, inflation, privatization, and law and order. In an attempt to thwart their advance, barricades were erected around the assembly premises, severely disrupting traffic in the city center due to route diversions.
The police highlighted the restrictions under section 163 of the Indian Civil Protection Code (BNS) in Lucknow, which grants the authority to issue immediate orders in anticipation of disturbances or danger, thereby stopping Congress workers from advancing beyond the party's Mall Avenue office.
