Bangalore: Congress worker dies as clamour for party tickets gets louder

Bangalore, Apr 4 (PTI): A Congress worker died of suspected cardiac arrest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office when police used canes to disperse a crowd demanding ticket to their "leaders" for the May 5 Assembly elections.

48-year-old Velu was declared dead in a hospital, where he was rushed after he collapsed when police used batons to control thousands of workers who had come from different Assembly segments.

Initially, there were conflicting versions on his death as the tragedy happened at the time of police action.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Alok Kumar appeared to rule out the possibility of death as a result of the lathi-charge.

"There were no external injury. He (Velu) had a stroke in the past. To know the exact cause of death, a post-mortem will be conducted," he told reporters.

KPCC office premises had become a venue for protests in the recent days, with supporters of ticket aspirants holding demonstrations seeking to push their case. The Congress is yet to officially announce its list of candidates.

Congress Cacophony:

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• Bangalore: Angry protest, immolation bid - Congress finds revolt hard to handle
• Why are women candidates missing from Ktaka list - Sonia questions KPCC