Hundreds of farmers had assembled in the Tikonia area in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. They wanted to block Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra, his son Ashish Mishra and Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya’s car from entering the area for their visit. The protesters were upset over a recent speech by Mr Mishra. There was a convoy of 3 SUVs. One of the cars ran over the protesting farmers. Farmers, angry over this, then attacked the cars. Vehicles were set on fire. 1 of the cars managed to escape but two got stuck in the crowds. There was a violent clash between the farmers and the BJP workers. The angry farmers stopped the vehicles and then started hitting the vehicle and beating up the drivers. 4 farmers were killed and four others killed were 3 BJP workers and 1 car driver. While UP Police did not give any information, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) identified the four farmers killed as Lovepreet Singh (20), Daljeet Singh (35), Nachattar Singh (60) and Gurvinder Singh (19). They said 12-15 others were injured.

The protesting farmers have alleged that the car was driven by the Union Minister's son Ashish and the car crushed farmers who peacefully sat on the ground and protested. A murder case has been filed against Ashish.  Several other people have also been named in the First Information Report (FIR).A retired High Court judge will now investigate the violence. The state government has also announced that it will pay a compensation of ? 45 lakh and a government job to families of farmers killed in violence. The injured will be given ? 10 lakh. Minister Ajay Mishra says he is not aware about any FIR against his son Ashish Mishra. He said, “My son wasn't present at the spot. There were miscreants who attacked workers with sticks and swords. Had my son been there, he wouldn't have come out alive. My son was at t?e event and I was with the deputy CM.” Mobile internet services have been suspended in certain districts and section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, has also been imposed. 

Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav was not allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri. The yadav decided to protest outside his house in Lucknow but the police have detained him. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi who was on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri was also arrested by the police. According to Gandhi, she was not shown an arrest warrant and has been arrested illegally by the police. Opposition parties slammed the BJP state government for the “inhuman” and “cruel” incident and called for the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 

Tags

• Farmers
• lakhimpurkheri
• car
• runover
• killed
• min

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