NEW DELHI: A purported video of a vehicle mowing down protesting farmers emerged on Monday evening as the opposition mounted pressure on the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the violence in Lakhimpur that left at least eight dead and several injured.
In the eye of the storm is Ashish Mishra alias Monu, the son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni, who was allegedly the man behind the incident.
Here are the major developments following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident:
In detention, Priyanka tweets video
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday tweeted a mobile phone video which shows a jeep running over the protesting farmers. She asked why the person responsible for killing farmers has not been put behind bars.
Priyanka, who has been detained by the police, also asked why she continues to be in custody for over 28 hours without an order or FIR.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also tweeted in support of his sister.
“The one who has been kept in custody, is fearless– is a true Congressi, will not accept defeat! Satyagraha will not stop,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag ‘FarmersProtest’.
Uneasy calm
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continued to prevail in Lakhimpur Kheri following the violence.
Personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and state were deployed in large numbers to maintain normalcy.
Many vehicles bearing registration numbers of Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana also reportedly arrived in the area as their occupants expressed solidarity with the farmers.
On Monday, most of the shops in the area remained shut, except those dealing with medicines and essential goods.
Post-mortem conducted
Post-mortem of the four deceased farmers was conducted and bodies handed over to relatives for last rituals.
The victims were identified as Daljeet Singh (32) and Gurvinder Singh (20), both from Bahraich district, and Lavpreet Singh (30) of Chaukhada farm and Nachhatar Singh (65) from Nandapurwa village, both falling in Kheri.
The post-mortem of three BJP workers identified as Hariom (35), Shyam Sundar (40) and Shubham Mishra (30), all from Kheri district, and a local scribe Raman Kasyap (28) was also carried out late on Sunday night. Their last rites were performed by their kin on Monday. All four had died in the ensuing violence after the SUV incident.
Yogi government announces probe; no arrests yet
The agitating farmers agreed to the post-mortem of the four bodies after the Uttar Pradesh government announced a committee headed by a retired high court judge to probe the clash and a compensation of Rs 45 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
One member from their families will be given a government job at the local level.
Cross FIRs
At least two FIRs have been registered over the incident.
A case of murder was filed against junior Union home minister Ajay Mishra Teni and his son Ashish Mishra.
Another case has been registered against unidentified people on the complaint of the family of the driver, who was lynched by the mob.
Farmers groups have claimed that Ashish Mishra was the person behind the gory episode.
The minister’s son, however, has claimed that he was not present at the site of the incident.
ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar told TOI, “Eight deaths have been confirmed, including that of a journalist. Cross FIRs have been registered at Tikunia police station. One by farmers’ families against Ajay Mishra for criminal conspiracy and Ashish Mishra for murder, causing death by negligence and criminal conspiracy. The second was lodged by the family of the driver who was killed, against unidentified persons, for rioting”.
Punjab Cabinet pays homage to farmers
The Punjab Cabinet on Monday observed a two-minute silence to pay homage to four farmers who lost their lives in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Uttar Pradesh.
The Cabinet, led by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi “prayed to the Almighty to give courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed souls”, the Punjab government said in an official statement.
“It is painful that our ‘anna dattas’ (farmers) have lost lives while protesting peacefully against the farm laws,” the Cabinet observed and urged the Centre to “expose the faces of real culprits behind this barbarous act”.
SGPC to send delegation
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Bibi Jagir Kaur on Monday said she has decided to send an SGPC delegation to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh to meet the family of victim farmers.
A delegation is being sent by the SGPC to Uttar Pradesh to enquire into the matter and get the details of the case from the families of the victims. The delegation will submit its report to the Akal Takht,” she said here.
Supreme Court fumes
Nobody takes the responsibility when such incidents happen, the Supreme Court said on Monday when Attorney General K K Venugopal referred to the “unfortunate” incident at Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people were killed in the violence that erupted during the farmers’ protest.
Hearing a plea by a farmers’ body, protesting against the three new farm laws and seeking directions to authorities to allow it to stage ‘satyagrah’ at Jantar Mantar here, the apex court observed that nobody takes the responsibility when damage to property as well as physical damage is caused in such incidents.
BJP leader accuses opposition of playing politics
Citing the complaint lodged on behalf of victims allegedly lynched by an agitated group of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri, BJP on Monday alleged that one of those responsible for arson is associated with Samajwadi Party, which it said has been doing politics over the violence in which eight persons were killed.
“The family of Shubham Mishra, who was killed in Lakhimpur, in their complaint to the police, has named Tejinder Singh Virk, whose link is with the Samajwadi Party and whom Akhilesh Yadav was describing as a farmer leader,” BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said and shared the copy of the complaint lodged by the victim’s family. The BJP leader further alleged that in the name of farmers’ movement, SP and Congress are doing politics in Lakhimpur.
(With inputs from agencies)
In the eye of the storm is Ashish Mishra alias Monu, the son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni, who was allegedly the man behind the incident.
Here are the major developments following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident:
In detention, Priyanka tweets video
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday tweeted a mobile phone video which shows a jeep running over the protesting farmers. She asked why the person responsible for killing farmers has not been put behind bars.
Priyanka, who has been detained by the police, also asked why she continues to be in custody for over 28 hours without an order or FIR.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also tweeted in support of his sister.
“The one who has been kept in custody, is fearless– is a true Congressi, will not accept defeat! Satyagraha will not stop,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag ‘FarmersProtest’.
Uneasy calm
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continued to prevail in Lakhimpur Kheri following the violence.
Personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and state were deployed in large numbers to maintain normalcy.
Many vehicles bearing registration numbers of Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana also reportedly arrived in the area as their occupants expressed solidarity with the farmers.
On Monday, most of the shops in the area remained shut, except those dealing with medicines and essential goods.
Post-mortem conducted
Post-mortem of the four deceased farmers was conducted and bodies handed over to relatives for last rituals.
The victims were identified as Daljeet Singh (32) and Gurvinder Singh (20), both from Bahraich district, and Lavpreet Singh (30) of Chaukhada farm and Nachhatar Singh (65) from Nandapurwa village, both falling in Kheri.
The post-mortem of three BJP workers identified as Hariom (35), Shyam Sundar (40) and Shubham Mishra (30), all from Kheri district, and a local scribe Raman Kasyap (28) was also carried out late on Sunday night. Their last rites were performed by their kin on Monday. All four had died in the ensuing violence after the SUV incident.
Yogi government announces probe; no arrests yet
The agitating farmers agreed to the post-mortem of the four bodies after the Uttar Pradesh government announced a committee headed by a retired high court judge to probe the clash and a compensation of Rs 45 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
One member from their families will be given a government job at the local level.
Cross FIRs
At least two FIRs have been registered over the incident.
A case of murder was filed against junior Union home minister Ajay Mishra Teni and his son Ashish Mishra.
Another case has been registered against unidentified people on the complaint of the family of the driver, who was lynched by the mob.
Farmers groups have claimed that Ashish Mishra was the person behind the gory episode.
The minister’s son, however, has claimed that he was not present at the site of the incident.
ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar told TOI, “Eight deaths have been confirmed, including that of a journalist. Cross FIRs have been registered at Tikunia police station. One by farmers’ families against Ajay Mishra for criminal conspiracy and Ashish Mishra for murder, causing death by negligence and criminal conspiracy. The second was lodged by the family of the driver who was killed, against unidentified persons, for rioting”.
Punjab Cabinet pays homage to farmers
The Punjab Cabinet on Monday observed a two-minute silence to pay homage to four farmers who lost their lives in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Uttar Pradesh.
The Cabinet, led by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi “prayed to the Almighty to give courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed souls”, the Punjab government said in an official statement.
“It is painful that our ‘anna dattas’ (farmers) have lost lives while protesting peacefully against the farm laws,” the Cabinet observed and urged the Centre to “expose the faces of real culprits behind this barbarous act”.
SGPC to send delegation
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Bibi Jagir Kaur on Monday said she has decided to send an SGPC delegation to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh to meet the family of victim farmers.
A delegation is being sent by the SGPC to Uttar Pradesh to enquire into the matter and get the details of the case from the families of the victims. The delegation will submit its report to the Akal Takht,” she said here.
Supreme Court fumes
Nobody takes the responsibility when such incidents happen, the Supreme Court said on Monday when Attorney General K K Venugopal referred to the “unfortunate” incident at Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people were killed in the violence that erupted during the farmers’ protest.
Hearing a plea by a farmers’ body, protesting against the three new farm laws and seeking directions to authorities to allow it to stage ‘satyagrah’ at Jantar Mantar here, the apex court observed that nobody takes the responsibility when damage to property as well as physical damage is caused in such incidents.
BJP leader accuses opposition of playing politics
Citing the complaint lodged on behalf of victims allegedly lynched by an agitated group of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri, BJP on Monday alleged that one of those responsible for arson is associated with Samajwadi Party, which it said has been doing politics over the violence in which eight persons were killed.
“The family of Shubham Mishra, who was killed in Lakhimpur, in their complaint to the police, has named Tejinder Singh Virk, whose link is with the Samajwadi Party and whom Akhilesh Yadav was describing as a farmer leader,” BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said and shared the copy of the complaint lodged by the victim’s family. The BJP leader further alleged that in the name of farmers’ movement, SP and Congress are doing politics in Lakhimpur.
(With inputs from agencies)