Lakhimpur violence LIVE updates: SIT to probe incident, Congress holds torch protest

An eye-witness of Lakhimpur violence in an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network said that the mob was pelting stone at the car. "They probably wanted to attack Ashish Mishra but he wasn't there," the eye-witness said adding that he not run for his life, they would have killed him too.  

On Wednesday, a Special Investigation Team was formed for investigation in Lakhimpur violence. 

Congress supporters protest with fire torches in Sitapur over Lakhimpur violence. 

Speaking to the media, Congress MP Selja Kumari claimed that there was 'Jungle Raj' in Uttar Pradesh, referring to the arrest of the party's General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She added, "Priyanka is not scared." 

In an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network, Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra maintained that he was not present at the site when the incident occurred. Adding that he has proof that he was present somewhere else (Bablbirpur) at the time of the incident, Ashish added, "To those who have filed an FIR against me, I just want to say that truth will come out."

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that he came to Lucknow to meet Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Sitapur. However, Baghel also said that he was not being allowed to leave the airport. 

Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra has maintained that neither he nor his son were present at the site when the incident occured. Mishra has also said that he is ready to face any investigating agency. Moreover, he has also assured action against the culprits responsible for the incident. At the same time, he mentioned that driver of the aforesaid car was killed by the protesters. Speaking to the media on the viral video, Ajay Mishra said:

"Only you know how the car mowed down (the farmers) as I was not present there. My son was also not there. So, we don't have any information about it. But the information and videos in the public domain show that the driver of the car was dragged out and killed there itself. If my son was driving the car, he would have been killed. It is not possible for 10-12 persons to flee after mowing down someone as thousands of persons were gathered there."

Congress leader and Kerala Assembly's Leader of Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala has condemned the detention of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Chennithala has therefore questioned the UP government over Vadra detention.

Opposition leaders on Tuesday condemned the detention of Priyanka Gandhi and attacked the Uttar Pradesh government. Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday claimed that the party's General Secretary (UP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's detention in the Sitapur PAC guest house is illegal.

Like Priyanka Gandhi, the Rajya Sabha MP also said that the party leader's detention by the Uttar Pradesh police is carried without any warrant or FIR against her.  In a video message, the Congress leader condemned the brutality and alleged BJP of 'suppressing democratic rights'. 

Kharge further demanded that a case must be registered against those who have illegally detained Priyanka Gandhi. 'Priyanka was going there to understand the pain and sorrow of the families of the farmers who died in the incident,' he added. The Congress leader also asked UP Government to take responsibility for the tragic incident. In addition, Congress workers gathered outside the guest house in Sitapur where party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is detained and staged an outcry on Tuesday morning.

The Shiv Sena too slammed the UP government for sealing the district borders and blocking opposition leaders from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri. The saffron party in its mouthpiece, Saamana, also condemned the detention of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda. Additionally, it has also hit out at the UP government for putting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav under house arrest. 

"Yogi-government sealed the borders of Lakhimpur Kheri, arrested Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on her way to the site of the incident. MP Hooda was also ill-treated during his visit. Akhilesh Yadav was also put under house arrest," the Saamana editorial said. 

On Tuesday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that she has been detained for the last 28 hours without any order or FIR against her. She was detained by the Sitapur police at Hargaon, as she proceeded towards Lakhimpur to meet the families of the 4 farmers who lost their lives in Lakhimpur-Kheri on October 3. At present, hundreds of party leaders are protesting outside the PAC guest house in Sitapur where Vadra has been kept under detention. Taking to Twitter, Vadra lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh police for not arresting any person in connection with the death of the farmers.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Tuesday claimed that he still remains detained 'like a criminal' even after 24 hours. The Congress leader's statement comes a day after he and other opposition leaders, including Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by the Sitapur Police after the Lakhimpur violence.

The Congress delegation was on its way to meet the families of the farmers who lost their lives in the clashes.  In his tweet, Deepender Hooda also claimed that even as he was detained, those who trampled the farmers were still roaming free. In addition, he hit out at the government and remarked that 'every drop of blood will write the story of the coming revolution'.

"Today, even after 24 hours we are still in custody like criminals for the second day, and those who trampled the farmers are free. The land of Lakhimpur was turned red with the blood of the farmers, but every drop of this blood will write the story of the coming revolution," tweeted Deepender Hooda.

Two days after the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident, a total of 18 people have been arrested till now, informed Meerut Police on Tuesday. Addressing the media, Vineet Bhatnagar, Meerut SP informed that 18 people have been arrested in the matter of Lakhimpur Kheri incident where police many personnel sustained burn injuries during the protest. 

"The protest over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident was more or less peaceful but some organisations took law in their hands and did not bother other's lives. Several police personnel have sustained burn injuries", he said. 

As PM Modi is slated to visit Lucknow on Tuesday, TMC leader Sushmita Dev has alleged that the cremation of the deceased farmers will be done overnight. 

West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari slammed CM Mamata Banerjee over her  'killing rajya' remark over the Lakhimpur violence incident in UP. While speaking to the media after her victory in Bhabanipur By-polls, the West Bengal CM said, "What is going on in the country is not democracy but autocracy. Farmers were brutally butchered, and they (BJP) didn't want the truth to come out. That is why they have imposed Section 144 (CrPC) there. People will impose Section 144 on them in the days to come. They are stopping delegations from visiting the locals there."

"Killing Raj is going on, instead of Ram Rajya as promised by them," Banerjee added when asked about the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. 

This is what Suvendu Adhikari said- 

In a massive development, an FIR has been filed against  Ashish Misra the son of Union MoS Ajay Misra Teni who had allegedly shot one of the farmers in the Lakhimpur Kher violence case.

Amid the opposition's uproar over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, Republic sources have informed that the DM of Lakhimpur Kheri will be meeting SP & other top officials including ADG Law & Order Prashant Kumar. 

After UP Police detained Punjab Deputy DM Sukhjinder Randhawa, CM Charanjit Singh Channi along with his Cabinet colleagues submitted a memorandum on farmers’ issues to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and reiterated the need to urgently review and repeal the three farm laws. 

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi slammed the UP government for detaining deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa along with other Congress leaders who were en route to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet families of farmers who lost their lives in violence. The UP government has already imposed section 144 and agreements have been reached between the farmers union and the administration. 

Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa and Congress leader Kuljit Nagra along with other party leaders have been detained by UP police in Saharanpur, while they were on their way to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet families of farmers who lost their lives in violence.

Punjab's former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who recently announced that he is quitting the Congress party, has asked the government to repeal the three farm laws following the Lakhimpur-Kheri violence. Speaking to Republic, Captain Amarinder also cautioned the centre that there is a possibility that Pakistan might take benefit from the ongoing farmer's agitation by recruiting sleeper cells and therefore the government must resolve the farmers' issue on paramount. 

Read Full Story Here- 

Despite an agreement between farmers and the UP State government, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal slammed this Yogi Adityanath government and rejected the court-monitored inquiry into the case. 

In a major breakthrough between farmers and the Yogi administration, UP govt on Monday, announced that it will give Rs 45 lakhs to the 4 farmers' families who lost their lives in Lakhimpur on Sunday. Addressing a joint press conference flanked by BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, ADG (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar added that Rs 10 lakhs will be given to injured, a govt job for families' kin and probe headed by a retired High Court judge. Farmers have now allowed the police to take the victims' bodies for post-mortem after being assured of arrests soon.

The UP Home Department replied to the Punjab Civil Aviation Director's letter seeking permission to land its Charanjit Singh Channi's helicopter in Lakhimpur Kheri. It denied permission to Channi and Deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa to enter the district citing the imposition of Section 144. 

The government and the protesting farmers reached truce on the Lakhimpur incident after multiple rounds of talks. According to UP ADG (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar, an FIR will be registered based on the farmers' complaint and a retired High Court judge will probe the matter. Moreover, the state government will give a compensation of Rs.45 lakh and a government job to the kin of the 4 deceased farmers and Rs.10 lakh to the injured persons. Besides this, it has assured the farmers that the culprits will be arrested within 8 days. 

Reiterating that neither he nor his son were at the accident site, Union Minister Ajay Mishra stated, "BJP workers were attacked & killed with sticks & swords. Videos show some attackers asked our workers to say that I had asked them to mow down farmers. Allegations against my son are totally baseless. Had he been there, he would have been killed."

"I demand that Rs 50 lakhs be given to the families of each BJP worker who were killed yesterday. The matter should be investigated either by CBI, SIT or by a sitting/retired judge and strict action be taken against the culprits," he added.

As per sources, TMC leaders are likely to leave for Lakhimpur by road to avoid the police at Lucknow. Meanwhile, an AAP delegation from Punjab- Raghav Chadda, Harpal Cheema, Kultar Sandhwan and Professor Baljinder Kaur will depart from Chandigarh at 3 pm.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha put forth the following demands to President Ram Nath Kovind: 

• Union Home Minister Ajay Mishra should be immediately dismissed from his post and a case should be filed against him for inciting violence and spreading communal hatred.

• Ashish Mishra and his fellow goons should be immediately booked for 302 and arrested immediately

• The investigation of this incident should be done by an SIT under the supervision of the Supreme Court

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who is inciting violence while holding a constitutional post, should be sacked from his post

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath chaired an emergency meeting on the Lakhimpur violence. As per sources, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and other top officials were present on the occasion.

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi has sought to visit Lakhimpur-Kheri to meet the kin of the deceased farmers. In this regard, the Punjab Civil Aviation Director has written to the UP Additional Chief Secretary for granting permission for the landing of Channi's helicopter. 

Weighing in on the Lakhimpur violence, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav opined that people wanted justice for the victims. At the same time, he contended that the police wasn't conducting a probe owing to the involvement of Union MoS Home Ashish Mishra. Moreover, he claimed, "Gunda raj has been established in UP".  

Hitting out at the opposition for seeking to leverage the Lakhimpur-Kheri violence for the UP polls, UP Minister Sidharth Nath Singh stated, "We've seen Priyanka Gandhi Vadra doing political tourism earlier. It an attempt to hamper the probe and manipulate public opinion. This shouldn't happen. They should at least wait for 24 hours or visit after there's a result to the probe." 

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained by Sitapur police at Hargaon, as she proceeded towards Lakhimpur. Congress shared a video in which Vadra is seen accusing the police of forcibly detaining her without a warrant, warning of consequences. She said, "If you forcibly take me in this van, you will be kidnapping me. Go and get a warrant before you arrest me. There may be no law and order in this state, but it is there in this state".

Congress workers have gheraoed the police station demanding her release. While Deepender Hooda, Sanjay Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Shivpal Yadav have been detained enroute to Lakhimpur, BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra and Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Pramod Tiwari has been placed under house arrest.

After Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa were denied permission to land at the Lucknow airport in view of their plan to visit Lakhimpur, the Chhattisgarh CM hit back at the UP government. Baghel said, "Why are people being stopped from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri? Section 144 has been imposed in Lakhimpur Kheri then why isn't one allowed to land in Lucknow? Do people no longer have rights in UP? Does one need a visa to visit UP?"

Opposition leaders from across the country ranging from NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to West Bengal CM Arvind Kejriwal condemned the violence in Lakhimpur-Kheri.

Farmers were protesting against the three farm laws ahead of an event in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur-Kheri district on October 3 where UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was invited as the Chief Guest. Since the morning, the protesters had gathered with black flags at the helipad in the Maharaja Agrasen Ground in Tikonia where Maurya was scheduled to land. Thereafter, violence erupted between farmers and BJP workers leaving 8 persons including 4 farmers dead and many others injured. As per the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, Union MoS Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra came with three vehicles around the time the farmers were dispersing from their protest.

It claimed, "He mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him. There were also shots fired, and one of the deaths was by this shooting by Ashish Mishra and his team". The SKM, which is the umbrella body of several farm organizations protesting at the Delhi borders seeking the repeal of the agrarian laws, demanded that Ashish Mishra and others involved in the attack should be booked for murder besides seeking the ouster of Ajay Mishra from the Union Council of Ministers.

Union MoS Home Ajay Mishra disputed that his son Ashish was not at the site of the crime and blamed the protesters instead. Explaining the sequence of events, he told Republic TV, "This (Dangal) programme happens in our ancestral village every year. The Deputy CM was going there as the Chief Guest. We got information that farmers are doing a demonstration and trying to show black flags. So, the administration diverted our route. So, we were going through another route. Our party workers were coming to receive the Deputy CM. While they were on the way, there were attacked by rowdy elements among farmers". 

Rejecting the allegation that he mowed down and shot dead farmers, Ashish Mishra remarked, "This is false. I was present at the primary school in the Banbirpur village where Dangal was organised from 9 am to the end of the programme. The biggest proof of this is that about 2500-3000 persons, administrative officials, wrestlers and shopkeepers were present. Hari Om was our driver who was killed at the spot. From our side, 6-7 persons are missing out of which 4 have been confirmed dead."

Terming the incident as very sad and unfortunate, UP CM Yogi Adityanath promised that the state government will expose the elements involved in the incident and take strict action against them. Appealing to the people not to be misled, he urged them to help maintain peace and order in the state. While ADG LO, ACS Agriculture, IG Range and the Commissioner are present on the spot, the entry of political leaders has been barred in Lakhimpur-Kheri owing to the imposition of Section 144.

In a key development, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was placed under house arrest as he was scheduled to visit the Lakhimpur-Kheri district where the violence took place on October 3. Visuals showed that a large contingent of police and Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed outside his Vikramaditya Marg residence. Moreover, a stationery truck is blocking the road in order to prevent Yadav from leaving.

When he was stopped from leaving his residence for Lakhimpur, he sat on a dharna alongside SP workers. He told the media, "Even Britishers would not have committed the kind of atrocities this government is committing against farmers. MoS Home Ajay Mishra and Deputy CM (Keshav Prasad Maurya) should resign. Rs 2 crore and a government job should be given to the next of kin of the farmers who died." 

An FIR has been registered against Union MoS Home Ajay Mishra, his son Ashish Mishra and unknown accused persons under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 148 (Rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 279 (rash driving), 302 (murder) and 304A (death by negligence) of the IPC. Meanwhile, farmers have issued a set of demands to Lakhimpur Kheri DM AK Chaurasiya - dismissal of MoS Home, registering FIR, ex gratia, government jobs to victims' kin and judicial probe. On his part, Chaurasiya stated that the demands have been forwarded to higher authorities and talks with farmers will be held later.