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Congress Workers Set Themselves On Fire By Accident, Trying To Burn Modi's Effigy

Congress Workers Set Themselves On Fire By Accident, Trying To Burn Modi's Effigy

A protest by some Congress workers took a fiery turn on Monday when they accidentally set themselves on fire while trying to burn Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effigy in Shimla.

According to reports, at least five Congress activists sustained burn injuries.

A Congress worker suffers burns while trying to set an effigy on fire during a protest on #NationalHerald in Shimla. pic.twitter.com/P2awnWF9Nt

— ANI (@ANI_news) December 14, 2015

The protest march was held by the Congress workers against NDA allegedly targeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

The fire got out of control when an eager participant lit a match as petrol was still being poured on the rag figurine, reports Hindustan Times.

The incident took place near Deputy Commissioner’s office where PCC president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu had led a peaceful demonstration after the party’s call for state-wide protests.

Two party workers suffered minor burn injuries and one of them identified as Manoj Adhikari had to be rushed to hospital. He is out of danger now.

Eyewitnesses said the party workers, who had assembled close to the Central Telegraph office (CTO), were raising anti-Modi slogans

“A Sikh gentleman had turned up with a bottle filled with petrol and poured on the effigy amidst slogans and cheers. The fire flared -up and engulfed some of the activists,” a party leader told Indian Express.

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