‘I am your brother’: Rahul to kin of man who died during protest

Lucknow: Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke with the father of Prabhat Pandey, the Congress worker who allegedly died during a Congress protest in Lucknow after a scuffle with the police on Dec 18.A party spokesman said Rahul Gandhi offered condolences to the family and assured support to them as he spoke to the aggrieved father, Deepak Pandey, over a phone call."The Congress leader expressed his desire to meet the worker's family and said that the Gandhi family and the Congress party were with them in this hour of grief," the spokesperson said, quoting Rahul."Prabhat's family is my family; I am your brother and will always stand by you. If you need anything, just let the party know," Rahul said.The party functionaries said when Rahul Gandhi asked Prabhat's father how his son died, he said that he had no information about it."We were trying to get in touch with him since 1 pm, but he was not picking up the phone. After 5 pm, someone picked up his phone and informed us that he was lying unconscious. Later, we were informed by the Civil Hospital that Prabhat passed away," Rahul was told.Meanwhile, Congress leader Ajay Rai blamed "police brutality" as the reason behind his passing and demanded that the UP govt provide financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to the bereaved family and a govt job to one of the family members as compensation.
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