Farmers Movement Archive

4th farmer, whose family had disputed autopsy report, laid to rest

Lakhimpur Kheri: After two days of conflict and negotiations, the body of Gurwinder Singh, 19, a protesting farmer who was killed in Sunday’s violence at Banbirpur in Lakhimpur Kheri, was cremated at his village, Nanpara, in Bahraich on Wednesday. A second autopsy was conducted on his body late night on Tuesday and the report, which only came in after the body was cremated, said what the first one had — that he died of several antemortem injuries but not bullet injuries as the family had said. “Our father, uncle and I were present for the autopsy. It was done before us. We cremated Gurwinder at 7.30am this morning,” his brother Gursevak told TOIin the afternoon. Three doctors from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences conducted the second autopsy well into midnight. By Wednesday evening, Gurwinder’s family had received the second autopsy report. “It still doesn’t mention bullet injuries. We are not satisfied but we have no choice. We have to accept it,” Gursevak said. On Tuesday, families of the farmers who died had refused to cremate the bodies until there was clarity over the findings of the autopsy report. The first report had attributed the deaths of all four farmers to various antemortem injuries, indicating they died in an accident, and did not mention bullet injuries. After Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait met the families and held discussions with the police on behalf of the families on Tuesday, the administration agreed to a second autopsy for Gurwinder. The three other farmers — Lovepreet Singh, 20, Nachattar Singh, 60, and Daljeet Singh, 35 — were cremated on Tuesday. Gurwinder would have turned 20 the following month. “He dropped out after Class X. He was very religious and wanted to help the poor,” said Gursevak, who has given up on his plan to go to Poland for his studies so he can support the family. “With the money we get as compensation, we will do what he wanted to — help the needy.”

The Times of India

2021-10-07

Bareilly