Mumbai: A 75 year old Thane resident died after suffering a heart attack while attending a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday evening. The deceased was identified as Gopalakrishna Subbaiya Pillai, who had arrived at the venue to witness the demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
According to police, Pillai reached Shivaji Park at around 4:30 pm. Around half an hour later, while he was near Gate No. 6, he complained of severe chest pain and began feeling unwell.
His friend and police personnel deployed at the protest site immediately came to his assistance. A doctor present at the venue provided preliminary medical help before Pillai was taken to the nearby Sushrusha Hospital in Shivaji Park.
Despite treatment, his condition deteriorated and he died at the hospital. Police said doctors attributed his death to a heart attack. An Accidental Death Report (ADR) was registered, and his body was handed over to his family after they raised no objection.
The incident occurred as a large crowd gathered at Shivaji Park for the CJP’s protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstration focused on allegations concerning the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The protest reportedly drew a substantial number of participants, prompting heavy police deployment and barricading around the area. The demonstration was held amid a dispute over police permission for the gathering.
CJP leaders used the protest to raise allegations of irregularities in voter list revisions and demanded action against the Election Commission leadership. The Election Commission has maintained that decisions taken by its three-member commission, including those concerning the SIR, were unanimous.
Pillai’s death occurred amid the political demonstration, but available police and medical accounts establish that he suffered chest pain at the venue and subsequently died after a heart attack. There is no reported evidence establishing that the protest itself caused his medical emergency.
The incident cast a sombre note over the gathering at Shivaji Park, where protesters had assembled over their demands concerning the electoral roll revision process and the functioning of the Election Commission.
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