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2 Congress leaders arrested for protest outside CEC’s Agra home, booked for murder attempt
Police said they arrested Congress state general secretary (organisation) Anil Yadav and Mathura district president Mukesh Dhangar and booked them for attempt to murder
Members of the Indian Youth Congress protest against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Agra Police on Monday arrested two Congress leaders for attempt to murder after a group of Congress workers gathered near the ancestral residence of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Agra to protest and allegedly defaced the walls of the house.
Police said they arrested Congress state general secretary (organisation) Anil Yadav and Mathura district president Mukesh Dhangar after they chased their vehicle while they were allegedly trying to leave Agra for Delhi.
S-I Gupta said that after receiving information of a crowd gathered outside the CEC’s house in the Vijay Nagar area of Agra, he, accompanied by a constable, reached the spot and found around 15–20 people raising slogans and behaving aggressively. “Home Guard Dinesh Kumar, who was deployed for security at the residence, tried to prevent the crowd from entering. However, the protesters surrounded him and entered the premises through the main gate without permission. When Home Guard Kumar again tried to stop them, the protesters pushed him, and he fell on the ground. The protesters struck him on the head with a hard object, after which he became unconscious,” a police officer said, adding that the S-I wrote in the complaint that Dinesh Kumar is elderly and suffers from a heart ailment.
According to the S-I, the protesters refused to leave the premises despite being asked to do so and obstructed police personnel in discharge of their duty. He accused the protesters of using abusive and provocative language against the CEC, police, and the administration.
The protesters continued raising slogans until additional police personnel arrived at the spot, the FIR stated.
“We have arrested two persons in connection with the case. Both have been named in the FIR,” said Agra Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Kumar Yadav.
Police are examining CCTV footage to identify other people who may have been involved in the alleged protest.
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The Congress had called protests against the CEC across the state amid a row over the functioning of the Election Commission.
Yadav had contested the last Assembly election from Nizamabad in Azamgarh on a Congress ticket, while Dhangar had contested the last Lok Sabha election from Mathura.
Meanwhile, Agra Police appealed to public representatives and members of all social and political organisations to exercise their right to protest at designated sites. It said designated locations had been identified for demonstrations and warned of legal action against anyone causing inconvenience or disturbance to residents in the name of a protest.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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