Lakhimpur Kheri violence: FIR registered against Union Minister Ajay Mishra`s son

Lakhimpur Kheri: Uttar Pradesh Police have registered an FIR against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish in connection with the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri during which at least eight people were killed on Sunday.

Several farmer leaders, including BKU’s Rakesh Tikait and Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, had demanded that an FIR be registered against MoS Mishra and his son for their alleged involvement in the violence that hit the district on Sunday.

Prodded about certain comments made by Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in purported videos that have surfaced on social media, Tikait demanded his arrest and said the atmosphere in the region was being vitiated over the last 10 days.

However, the Union Minister has refuted the allegations saying that his son was not present at the site at the time of the incident. He said he had video evidence to back his claim.

Hundreds of farmers will stage a protest at the district collectorate and in every district across the country on Monday against the violent clash in Lakhimpur Kheri in which at least eight people were killed on Sunday.

In view of the incident, a panchayat was called by Naresh Tikait, national president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), in Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar late-night during which it was decided that a demonstration will be staged at the district collectorate on Monday. 

“We will first meet the farmers and villagers and discuss the situation with them. The future course of action will be done on the basis of the discussion with the villagers and farmers. Their decision will prevail,” Tikait told reporters at Banbirpur village.

Reportedly eight people died in the violence, however officially four deaths have been confirmed so far. 

An atmosphere of tension prevails in the state since the incident. From farmer leaders to political leaders, everyone is making efforts to reach Lakhimpur Kheri. 

The national spokesperson of the BKU, a non-political farmers' union, had started from western UP on Sunday evening and reached here early morning, with his associates blaming the delay on multiple police checks.

“En route to Lakhimpur, we were stopped at multiple places by the UP Police. Somehow we have managed to reach here at Banbirpur village and Tikait ji will now be meeting the farmers here,” BKU's media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said over the phone at around 5 am.

Meanwhile, mobile internet services were suspended in parts of the violence-hit district, where restrictions under CrPC section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, has also been imposed, according to officials.

The UP Police took to Twitter early on Monday to describe the incident as “unfortunate” and said eight casualties have been reported till now as per the district administration.

“ADG LO, ACS Agriculture, IG Range & Commissioner are on the spot & situation is under control. Adequate deployment has been done to prevent any untoward incident,” it added.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party leaders have reached here early on Monday but alleged they were not allowed to meet the victims of the violence that erupted during a farmers' protest and claimed several lives. The Congress party, through several tweets, claimed that Priyanka and other leaders have been "arrested" by the UP Police. 

Priyanka Gandhi, who is accompanied by party leader Deepender Singh Hooda among others, had to take alternative routes to reach the destination as heavy security was deployed on the main roads amid tension in the violence-hit region.

“We are waiting outside the Banbirpur village. We have been prevented by the police from entering. We have come here to meet the victims of the violence,” Congress national secretary Dheeraj Gurjar said over the phone at 4.30 am. 

Priyanka Gandhi's convoy was earlier briefly stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police officials in Lucknow, where the Congress general secretary had arrived on Sunday night, within a few hours of violence being reported during a protest against anti-farm laws here.