Lakhimpur Kheri: Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra, sat on the left side of the Mahindra Thar that crushed protesting farmers, and opened fire on the crowd as his convoy continued to move ahead, reads the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the Lakhimpur Kheri clash, which left eight people dead Sunday.
According to the FIR, due to the firing, farmer Gurvinder Singh suffered bullet injuries and died on the spot.
The Lakhimpur Kheri Police have filed the FIR based on a complaint by Jagjeet Singh, a resident of Nanpara village in Bahraich district. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections invoked include murder and causing death by negligence.
The FIR states that, on 3 October, local farmers and labourers were peacefully protesting against Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, and Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, at the Maharaja Agrasen Inter College in Tikoniya Kheri.
“Around 3 pm, Ashish Mishra, son of MoS, rushed towards the protest site along with 15-20 armed men in three four-wheelers. Ashish Mishra who was in his Mahindra Thar, sitting on the left side continued to fire as the vehicle moved ahead crushing the people in the crowd,” the FIR states.
“Because of the firing, farmer Gurvinder Singh died on the spot. Vehicles moved at high speed crushing farmers standing on both sides of the road.”
A purported video of the Mahindra Thar ramming into the crowd has gone viral on social media.
The FIR adds that, after crushing the farmers, the cars in Mishra’s convoy lost control and fell into a ditch.
“Ashish Mishra ran away through the farms while firing. As per the information received until now, four farmers have died and many others are injured. Before today’s incident, MoS had openly threatened the farmers,” reads the FIR filed at the Tikoniya police station.
Eight people were killed in the violence Sunday. The protesting farmers say four of these were farmers — they allege three died when they were run over by a car in the minister’s convoy, while the fourth, Gurvinder, was shot by the bullet fired by the minister’s son.
The FIR identifies Gurvinder’s age as 22, but his family said he was 19.
Gurvinder’s family has refused to cremate him and have demanded a second autopsy, alleging that the first one ruled out a bullet injury.
Minister’s speech in FIR
A speech by Union minister Ajay Mishra, a video of which surfaced ahead of the incident, has also made it to the FIR.
“Before today’s incident, MoS had openly threatened the farmers of throwing them out of the state. A video of him stating the same had gone viral. This was a pre-planned attack by MoS and his son,” the FIR alleges.
The minister has denied the allegations made by the farmers regarding Sunday’s violence, saying neither he nor his son was present at the site. He said miscreants among the protesters first pelted stones on a BJP convoy that caused a car to overturn and crush two farmers.
Ashish Mishra had Sunday told ANI that he was not part of the convoy. “I was at Banwaripur from 9 am until the end of the event. Allegations against me are completely baseless and I demand judicial inquiry of this matter and culprits should get punished,” he had said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
Also read: Pain, anger in Lakhimpur Kheri as dead farmers’ kin cry ‘cold-blooded murder, Yogi’s gunda raj’