Lakhimpur Kheri violence: SKM calls for 'rail roko' on Oct 18, 'antim ardaas' on Oct 12

The protesting farmers have called for a 'rail roko' demonstration on October 18 to raise their voice against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and reject the Uttar Pradesh government's judicial probe into the matter. The decision was taken at the umbrella organisation- Samyukta Kisan Morcha's (SKM) general body meeting at the Singhu border on Friday where they said that if the demand of Ashish Mishra's arrest along with the removal of his father Ajay Mishra is not met with then nationwide rail roko demonstration will be staged. Another important announcement made after the meeting included declaring October 12 as “antim ardaas” day as the last rites will be conducted on that day.

Additionally, the farm union will burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the upcoming festival of Dussehra. In a statement released post the general meeting, the farmer leaders have written that they have rejected the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and judicial inquiry set up by the UP Government, noting that the Supreme Court had also said it was not satisfied.

Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Latest update

Meanwhile, Lakhimpur violence's accused Ashish Mishra reached the Crime Branch office on Saturday for questioning. This comes even as speculation was rife that Mishra has fled to Nepal. As per sources, the police is likely to question him on his location at the time of the incident and whether he has any evidence to prove that he was not at the spot. Moreover, he is likely to be quizzed on if he visited the spot before or after the violence happened.

What happened in Lakhimpur Kheri violence?

Violence broke out in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3 leading to the death of 8 persons including 4 farmers and a journalist. Immediately after the horrific incident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath promised that the state government will expose the elements involved in the incident and take strict action against them. As per the FIR lodged by the UP police on Monday, Ashish Mishra and 15-20 unknown accused persons have been booked under IPC Sections 120B, 147, 148, 149, 279, 302, 304A and 338. The government has also constituted a single-member Commission of Inquiry of Justice (retd.) Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to probe the Lakhimpur violence.