After the Congress blamed the Uttar Pradesh police for the death of a party worker during a protest near the state Assembly on Wednesday, the latter issued a response, clarifying that it did not use force against the demonstrators. The UP Police also warned of legal action against those spreading rumours regarding the incident and urged citizens to not pay heed to them.
The UP Police statement came after the Congress blamed “police brutality” as the reason behind the death of a 28-year-old party worker from Gorakhpur Prabhat Pandey. The statement noted that Pandey was brought to the Civil Hospital from the Congress state party office at around 5:00 PM on December 18, and was declared brought dead by the doctors.
The UP Police further stated that the deceased was last seen at the party’s office where he was found unconscious. “According to doctors, there are no visible external injuries on his body at first glance,” it said.
The state police further stated that it would get the post-mortem conducted under videographic documentation to ensure the process is impartial.
“To ensure impartiality, a post-mortem of the deceased will be conducted by a panel of doctors under videographic documentation. The police will ensure a prompt and transparent investigation while following all legal protocols,” the statement read.
Reacting to the “rumours” about the incident, Lucknow Police clarified: “No force was used against the protestors during the demonstration. Legal action will be taken against those spreading false information and rumors linked to this incident, to prevent any adverse effects on law and order or peace.”
The Lucknow Police Commissionerate appealed to the citizens to not pay attention to the rumours and only rely on official sources for any information. “The feelings of everyone will be respected in this sensitive matter, and all necessary steps will be taken to maintain law and order”.
The Congress had staged a protest during the ongoing Winter Session at the state Assembly to demonstrate against the UP government over issues like farmer distress, unemployment, inflation, privatisation and law and order.
To prevent the party workers from reaching the state Assembly, barricades were set up around its premises and party workers were not allowed to move ahead from the party Mall Avenue office by the police, which stopped them citing curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
However, the workers tried to break the barricades to go towards the planned protest site. Their bid was foiled by the heavy police force deployed at the Assembly premises. Ajay Rai and state incharge Avinash Pande among others leaders were detained as they tried to leave the party office. The action continued outside the office for about four hours after which the police detained the leaders.
In a post on X, Rai stated: “Today, while going to the assembly, our young colleague Prabhat Pandey passed away due to police brutality.”
“This incident is extremely sad and condemnable. Our Congress family is hurt and angry by this accident. We will not tolerate this incident at all. The Yogi government should give financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased and a government job to one member of the family as compensation,” he added.
