Lucknow, Sept. 28 -- Congress workers protesting against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Monday smeared black paint on the gate and wall of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's ancestral residence in Agra, escalating the party's statewide agitation seeking his resignation.
The protesters also spray-painted slogans describing Kumar as a "traitor" and "vote thief" at the Vijay Nagar residence. Hundreds of Congress workers gathered there under the leadership of district president Mukesh Dhangar and state organisation general secretary Anil Yadav.
Police subsequently registered a case and began identifying those involved using CCTV footage. Officials said Yadav and Dhangar were arrested while allegedly attempting to leave for Delhi.
In Lucknow, Congress workers trying to march towards the Election Commission office clashed with police after being stopped by barricades. Several were detained and taken to Eco Garden.
In Varanasi, protesters hit a poster of Kumar with shoes, while women workers carried bangles during the demonstration. Protests and scuffles were also reported in Moradabad, Gorakhpur and Saharanpur. In Ghaziabad, Congress leaders staged a sit-in outside the collectorate, while around 50 workers were detained in Hapur.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.