2 Congress Workers Killed Because Of Police Action, Says Party; Cops Deny

Guwahati/Lucknow: 

Two Congress leaders died due to “police action” during protests in Guwahati and Lucknow on Wednesday, the party has claimed.

Police in both cities, however, said the deaths did not occur because of their actions and no injury marks were found on the two leaders’ bodies. The exact reason for the deaths, they added, will be clear after the post-mortem is conducted.

The incidents took place in the two cities as the Congress held a nationwide protest over several issues, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar, alleged government inaction over the violence in Manipur and a demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

In Guwahati, a Congress march towards the Raj Bhavan turned violent when the protesters clashed with police, who tried to disperse the crowd.

Several leaders, including Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, were detained by the police and taken away in buses.  

Congress leaders alleged the police fired tear gas shells to disperse the remaining crowd. They said Mridul Islam, who was a lawyer and the secretary of the state unit’s legal cell, suffered injuries and was rushed to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

“When more than 8,000 people were proceeding towards the Governor’s House, all of a sudden, the Assam Police fired tear gas shells. They used it thrice… Many journalists were injured. I was also injured. Unfortunately, one of our colleagues died on the spot,” Mr Borah said. 

He described the police action on the protesters as a “pre-planned conspiracy” against the opposition party. “This is a pre-planned conspiracy to kill Congress workers and create a fear psychosis… The Congress is not scared of it,” he said. 

Assam Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi also co