Were the farmers deliberately crushed?
On October 3, the farmers had assembled at Lakhimpur Kheri to oppose Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur. Banbirpur is the native village of Union Minister of State for Home and MP Ajay Kumar Mishra. Allegedly, Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters with 2 SUVs. Four more people were found dead in the violence that followed. The 8 people who have died are identified as 4 farmers, 1 driver, 1 media person, and 2 BJP workers. A video has been surfaced from the incident. Local media has released a video that allegedly shows a car running over farmers in the district. You can watch the viral video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tczjVpYRqEQ
Farmers unions say Ashish Mishra was in the car and he ordered his driver to plow the vehicle into the group of protesting farmers. But, Mr. Mishra says he was not at the spot when the incident happened. After the farmers were crushed, workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the driver were beaten to death by the protesters. Reportedly, a journalist has also died in the violence.
As a result, Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur village was canceled in the rage of the violence. Afterward, the police started an investigation against them after protests from farm unions. However, the Mishra’s have denied the claim. For the unversed, the Indian farmers’ protest is an ongoing protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. Farmers, farmer union, and their representatives have demanded that the laws be repealed.
Supreme Court Verdict
The Supreme Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report regarding the accused in the Lakhimpur violence case and whether any action had been taken against them. On Thursday, the court said, “We need to know who are the accused against whom you have registered FIR & whether you have arrested them or not”
- Advertisement -
To get a better picture of what happened in Lakhimpur Kheri, take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VhxHZEKoS0
