VARANASI: At least four
Congress workers and two policemen suffered burn injuries when the cops tried to foil the bid of burning an effigy of chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi in Galla Mandi of Mughalsarai township on Friday.
Continuing their sit-in stir against the proposed renaming of Mughalsarai railway station and also township after Deen Dayal Upadhyaya for third consecutive day on Friday the Congress workers and leaders had carried out a procession.
Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson Vibhakar Shastri also visited Mughalsarai and opposed the proposal of changing the name of Mughalsarai railway station and said that if government is interested in renaming this railway station it should be done after Shastri’s name.
After Tuesday’s decision of Yogi cabinet to rename Mughalsarai railway station after DDU the activists of Congress launched an agitation at Shastri Park in Mughalsarai township from Wednesday. The Congressmen had scuffled with police and the latter tried to foil their bid of burning effigy of CM on the inaugural day of their agitation. It led to beginning of indefinite sit-in by the Congress workers under the leadership of City Congress Committee chief Ramji Gupta.
This stir continued for third consecutive day on Friday when dodging the cops the protesters carried out a procession and tried to burn the effigy on reaching Galla Mandi. On getting information heavy police force reached Galla Mandi. But, before the cops could swing into action the Congress protesters torched the effigy. The cops tried to snatch the effigy from them when it fell on the protesters. Four Congress workers including Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Ashok Yadav, Akil Ahmed and Vijay Gupta suffered injuries while two policemen including SO Balua also sustained burns. They all were rushed to a local hospital.
On getting information Vibhakar Shastri, who had visited Mughalsarai to meet the protesters, reached the hospital. Vibhakar opposed the proposal of changing the name of Mughalsarai railway station and said that people across the world are aware about this important railway station due to its existing name. Changing this name would cause serious problem to everyone including foreign tourists, he said adding, if the government wanted renaming this railway station it should be done after Shastri’s name as it is the birth place of former PM and he also spent his childhood apart from taking education.