19 persons injured as agitators clash with cops
Nineteen people including eight cops were injured when Janwadi Party activists demanding reservation for the most backward went on the rampage, indulging in brick-batting and damaging vehicles.
Nineteen people including eight cops were injured on Wednesday when Janwadi Party activists demanding reservation for the most backward went on the rampage, indulging in brick-batting and damaging vehicles in front of the Vidhan Bhawan in Lucknow, prompting police to lathicharge the agitators.
The mob attacked the policemen with axe and sticks in which eight police personnel were injured. They were admitted to the civil hospital, where the condition of two was stated to be serious, Additional District Magistrate Anil Pathak said, adding that some party workers have been arrested in this connection.
Janwadi Party (socialist) activists took out a procession and staged a demonstration in front of the Vidhan Bhawan demanding 20 per cent reservation to the most backward.
However, trouble began when the agitating party workers, defying restrictions imposed by the district administration in the area, attempted to stage a dharna on the road disrupting traffic movement on the busy Vidhan Sabha Marg, police said.
The police used mild force to disperse the mob but it further angered the agitating party workers who went on the rampage, indulging in heavy brick batting in which some vehicles including a PAC truck were damaged.
The officials claimed that the unruly activists attacked the policemen with sticks and axe. In retaliation the police lathicharged the demonstrators and lobbed teargas shells.