Lakhimpur : Union Minister of State Home Ajay Mishra blames UP Police for violence at Lakhimpur. Ajay Mishra states that the death of three BJP workers is unfortunate. The manner in which the incident took place in the presence of officials shows the negligence of both the police and the administration. The minister’s son is the prime accused in the case. He is in judicial custody and being interrogated.
Mishra said at a meeting in Singha Khurd village- “Farmers were allowed to occupy a road and then the road was not barricaded by the police. The guilty policemen will not be spared and the government will investigate against them”.
He further alleged that the police did not conduct proper recce of the area despite intelligence inputs; Mishra also said no barricades were put on the route which was taken by the protesters who were coming back after stating a stir.
An SUV had mowed down a group of protesters in Tikunia village, killing eight of them, including four farmers. The protesters have claimed that minister’s son Ashish was in the car and are even demanding Ajay Mishra’s removal.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha umbrella of Farmers Union on Sunday has announced ‘rail roko’ protest. The protest will be held on October 18 nationwide. Farmers are demanding dismissal and arrest of Union Minister of State Home Ajay Mishra in connection with Lakhimpur incident, through this protest. The protest will be held for six hours.
In a statement, the umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s three agri laws, said “protests will only be intensified until justice is secured” in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
SKM has alleged that the Union minister’s son Ashish was sitting in the vehicle which mowed over farmers, resulting in the death of as many as eight people on October 3. The farmers were coming out of a protest against the Centre’s three farm laws when two SUVs ran over them.
However, Ajay Mishra has denied any wrongdoing and claims that his son was not present at the site of the incident when it occurred.
The rail roko agitation will be held between 10am and 4pm and it is likely to have an impact on the movement of trains.
The fresh remarks from the minister are expected to give fresh ammunition to the opposition, which has been targeting Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state. They have claimed that the state government does not care about the farmers and have joined the farmers in demanding the Union minister’s removal.
Official said that the police team investigating the violence in Tikunia village has received over 147 videos of the incident, which are being reviewed for further clues. Most of these videos were sent by eyewitnesses on the cellphone number issued by the police.
The investigating team is also conducting raids to arrest key witness Sumit Jaiswal, who was believed to be in the SUV leading a convoy of three vehicles that rammed into the protesters. Jaiswal failed to appear before the police team despite being summoned.
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