Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni in Lucknow.
Lakhimpur Kheri: Union minister Ajay Mishra blames local police for violence
An SUV had mowed down the group of protesters in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Tikunia village, killing eight of them, including four farmers. The protesters have claimed that Union minister’s son Ashish was in the car and are even demanding Ajay Mishra’s removal.
Union minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ has blamed the local police in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri for violence in Tikunia village, in which eight people were killed. The minister’s son is the prime accused in the case. He is in judicial custody and being interrogated.
Mishra made the remarks on Sunday while attending a prayer meeting at Singha Khurd village for three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers who had died in the wake of the October 3 violence. The Union minister said that one of these workers, Shyam Sundar Nishad, was alive and had reached the ambulance but was dragged out and killed in the presence of police officials.
He further alleged that the police did not conduct proper recce of the area despite intelligence inputs; Mishra also said no barricades were put on the route which was taken by the protesters who were coming back after stating a stir.
An SUV had mowed down a group of protesters in Tikunia village, killing eight of them, including four farmers. The protesters have claimed that minister’s son Ashish was in the car and are even demanding Ajay Mishra’s removal.
They have organised a nationwide ‘Rail Roko’ protest demanding the sacking of the minister from the Union cabinet. Ajay Mishra has been denying all the allegations, even claiming that his son was not present at the site on that day.
The fresh remarks from the minister are expected to give fresh ammunition to the opposition, which has been targeting Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state. They have claimed that the state government does not care about the farmers and have joined the farmers in demanding the Union minister’s removal.
Official said that the police team investigating the violence in Tikunia village has received over 147 videos of the incident, which are being reviewed for further clues. Most of these videos were sent by eyewitnesses on the cellphone number issued by the police.
The investigating team is also conducting raids to arrest key witness Sumit Jaiswal, who was believed to be in the SUV leading a convoy of three vehicles that rammed into the protesters. Jaiswal failed to appear before the police team despite being summoned.