Farmers Movement Archive

Lakhimpur: Farmers, politicians pay homage to deceased protesters, journalist

Thousandsof farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, farm leaders and political leaders converged in Lakhimpur’s Tikunia village for the ‘antim ardas’ (final prayers) of the four farmers and a journalist killed in the October 3 violence.The ‘antim ardas’ for the four deceased farmers, Daljeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh of Bahraich district, Nachhattar Singh of Dhaurahra (Lakhimpur) and Lovepreet Singh of Pallia (Lakhimpur) and journalist Raman Kashyap of Nighasan (Lakhimpur) was held amidst heavy police presence. The units of the police, Provincial Armed Constabulary and Rapid Action Force were deputed near the venue to ensure law and order and avert any untoward incident.Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, UP Congress Committee chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary and Samajwadi Party leaders including its district president Rampal Singh Yadav were among those who paid tribute to the deceased.Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Bharatiya Kisan Union leaders Rakesh Tikait, Darshan Singh Pal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Dharmendra Malik besides local farm union leaders also arrived in the village to pay tributes.Paying homage to the deceased, farmer leaders reiterated their demand for the arrest of Union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni. “Insaf tabhi hoga jab mantri giraftar hoga (Justice will be done only after the minister (junior minister for home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni) is arrested,” said a local farm leader, Joginder Singh.Notably, farm unions blame Mishra and his son Ashish for the October 3 incident in which a convoy of vehicles belonging to the junior home minister ploughed through farmers returning from a protest. The UP police arrested Ashish Mishra in connection with the case on Saturday.Family members of the deceased farmers also reiterated the same demand. “The police cannot conduct a fair investigation till minister Ajay Mishra resigns from his post and is arrested for criminal conspiracy that resulted in the violence,” said Gurjinder Singh, uncle of deceased farmer Gurvinder Singh.Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3, in the bloodiest clash since the farmers’ protest over the Centre’s three contentious agricultural laws started last year. The farmers were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers travelling to welcome deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to the area. The remaining deceased -- two BJP workers, a journalist and a driver -- were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and then lynched by angry protesters.Meanwhile, the police on Tuesday arrested the fourth accused, Ashish’s accomplice, Ankit Das’ driver Shekhar Bharti, who was allegedly driving the black car behind Mishra’s car that allegedly mowed down four farmers.Last week, the police said names of total six accused surfaced during the course of investigation. Apart from Bharti and Ashish, latter’s two accomplices Luv Kush and Ashish Pandey have also been arrested. The police said that three other accused, including Mishra’s driver and two BJP workers, were killed during the violenceThe police, on Tuesday, also took the main accused, Ashish Mishra into three day custody after the court order on Monday, for further interrogation to crime branch while Ankit Das filed his surrender application in a local court on Tuesday.

Hindustan Times

13-10-2021

India