Lakhimpur Kheri Violence Updates: Supreme Court Not Happy With UP Govt’s Probe

8 Deaths

4 Farmers, 1 Journalist Rammed Into By BJP Convoy,

2 BJP Members,1 Driver Mob-Lynched

A video of October 3 which gives shock waves to every person is still surfacing on the internet. The killing of eight during the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence has raised questions over the law and order in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Here is all you need to know about the Lakhimpur Kheri incident story and all the updates so far.

While hearing a petition filed on the basis of letters submitted by two advocates from UP, the Supreme Court bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice Surya Kant expressed displeasure over the way state government and police has been handling the probe. The court has sought a status report from UP govt on Thursday and has posted the matter for October 20.

Advocate Harish Salve was appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government. Here are Lakhimpur Kheri Violence live updates.

Adv Harish Salve: I was told that post mortem did not show any bullet wounds. That is why 160 CrPC notice was sent…but the manner in which car was driven, allegations are true. I am saying allegations are true and there is a 302 case.

CJI Ramana: This is a responsible State government and police. When there is a serious allegation of death or gunshot injury, will other accused in this country be treated the same way?

Adv Salve: I was told post mortem did not show gun shot injury.

CJI Ramana: So this is a ground for not taking custody of the accused.

Adv Salve: They have found two cartridges, may be he had a bad aim and he missed it.

CJI Ramana: The way its proceeding it seems it’s not serious. Action is only in words here. What is the message we are sending? Ld Counsel explains various steps taken by state govt. The status report was filed and we are not satisfied by the steps taken.

What Happened In Lakhimpur Kheri?

On October 3 (Sunday), four farmers were killed after a convoy of three SUVs, including one owned by Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, rammed into them. The four farmers included Lovepreet Singh (20), Daljeet Singh (35), Nachattar Singh (60), and Gurvinder Singh (19). 12-15 others were injured during the clash. The eyewitnesses reported that they heard the gunshots too but post-mortem reports didn’t disclose any bullet injuries.

Here you can check out the Lakhimpur video of the mowing down the protestors.

Died Doing His Job: Journalist Raman Kashyap Also Among Deceased

Other than the four farmers, a journalist was also reported dead after being hit by the vehicle. 33-year-old Raman Kashyap was a Tehsil reporter with Sadhna News Channel and was also a teacher at a private school. He had gone to Tikunia to cover the farmers’ protests.

The family alleged that he died due to negligence as he could not get the required medical treatment. “The administration made no effort to rush him to the nearby hospital or to contact the family immediately. The place where the incident took place has three hospitals nearby, with one 100-200 metres away. If he had been rushed to a hospital, he may have survived,” said Pawan Kashyap, Raman’s younger brother.

Two BJP Workers, One Driver Beaten To Death In Lakhimpur Kheri

Union Minister Ajay Mishra during an interview claimed that three BJP workers and a driver were beaten to death by some elements in the protesting farmers after a car in which they were travelling turned turtle following pelting of stones.

He has also claimed that his son Ashish Mishra was not present there where the violence erupted citing that he had video and photographic evidence to prove that.

How Lakhimpur Kheri Violence Broke and Why? Why Were Farmers Protesting In Lakhimpur Kheri?

The farmers were protesting against the visit of Mr. Mishra and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in the area. They were angry over Mishra’s earlier statement where he had said that protests involved just 10-15 people and that it would take just two minutes to make them fall in line.

Among 13 Accused, 3 Dead, 2 Arrested, One Summoned

Two accused were arrested after the matter reached Supreme Court and registered a PIL in connection to the incident.

“Among the unnamed accused in the (farmers’) FIR, six have been identified so far. Three of them had died on the spot. Two others – Lav Kush from Banbirpur and Ashish Pandey from Taranagar – were arrested on Thursday. They revealed the names of three persons involved in the incident. We cannot arrest them because they are dead. They’ll be produced in the court,” said ADG SN Sabat.

Ashish Mishra kept the eight-member SIT team waiting as he didn’t appear for investigation at 10 am. DIG Upendra Agarwal led SIT pasted the summon outside the house of BJP leader Ajay Mishra on Thursday. Another summon has been issued against him asking him to appear at 11 am on Saturday.

Suo Moto Cognizance Miscommunication, Clarified CJI NV Ramana

CJI NV Ramana clarified that the top court had asked the Registry to register the matter as a PIL in connection to the letters written by advocate Shivkumar Tripathi and advocate CS Panda. He called it a communication problem as the matter appeared as a suo moto case in the causelist of the Supreme Court.

The UP government informed the top court earlier that a judicial commission of inquiry and Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted. The bench was also informed that an FIR has been filed.

Retired Allahabad HC Judge To Probe Lakhimpur Kheri Violence

The UP government has appointed Retired Allahabad High Court judge Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to enquire about the October 3 violence. The probe should be completed within two months. However, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi opposed the decision demanding the probe to be led by either a sitting Supreme Court judge or High Court judge, and not by a retired judge.

“The Governor is pleased to appoint Justice High Court, Allahabad (retd) Pradeep Kumar Srivastava as a single-member Commission of enquiry with Headquarters at Lakhimpur Kheri. The Commission shall complete the enquiry within a period of two months from the date of the issue of this notification. Any change in its tenure shall be at the behest of the Government,” the notification said.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sachin Pilot, Rahul Gandhi, Other Congress Leaders Detained For Visiting Lakhimpur

The Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission to any opposition leader to visit the area. The state government has issued prohibitory orders in the area under Section 144 of CrPC. Many Congress leaders were stopped on their way to Lakhimpur Kheri including Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sachin Pilot, Acharya Pramod Krishnam, and others.

Navjot Singh Sidhu had stated, “If the arrest is not made till tomorrow (Friday), or he does not join the investigation, I will go on a hunger strike.” Priyanka Vadra and 10 others were allegedly detained under Section 151 of CrPC.

Varun Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi Allegedly Dropped From 80-Member BJP National Executive For Condemning Lakhimpur Incident

Speculations are higher that the reason behind Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi not being on the 80-member BJP national executive fresh list, is the former’s tweet criticising the mowing down of four farmers. Varun Gandhi was the only BJP leader who flagged the incident

“Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer,” the tweet said.

Another Lakhimpur Kheri Horror In Haryana, BJP MP’s Convoy Allegedly Rammed Into A Farmer Protestor

A protesting farmer was allegedly injured in Naraingarh in Ambala, Haryana on October 7 after being hit by a vehicle in the convoy of Kurukshetra BJP MP Nayab Singh Saini.