Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, 15 others injured as dais caves in

Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and 15 others received minor injuries when the dais at a BJP Yuva Morcha public meeting, collapsed in Dibrugarh on Monday.

At the end of the BJYM workers meeting, over 150 party members rushed to meet Sonowal on the dais designed to hold only 25 persons, said senior BJP leader Ujjal Kashyap.

As soon as the people got up on the dais, its wooden planks could not take the weight of the crowd and caved in along with the Minister, two MPs Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Rameswar Teli, and several others, Kashyap said.

The Minister received minor injuries on his back and a team of doctors that rushed to attend to him, advised Sonowal to take rest as he did not require hospitalisation, he said. Tasa said he and Teli were, however, not injured in the mishap, while about 15 others were required medical attention.