Lakhimpur Violence: After Murder Case On BJP Minister’s Son, Farm Bill Protesters Booked For Lynching Of BJP Workers

Eight people died on Sunday (3 October) in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district after violence broke out between a group of farm bill protesters and members of a convoy linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that was passing by the protest site.

A car from the convoy allegedly hit the protesters, mowing down four of them. Protesters then allegedly pulled out people from inside the vehicles and lynched them to death.

The convoy belonged to Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Kumar Mishra. The convoy was on its way to attend a separate event in Lakhimpur where Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was scheduled to be present.

At least two first information reports (FIRs) have been filed in the Lakhimpur violence case. The first is against Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son Ashish and 20 other identified and unidentified men for death of the four protesters. As per a complaint given by one of the protesters, it was Ashish who was behind the wheel of the vehicle that hit the protesters.

They have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 147 (rioting).

A counter FIR has been filed against some protesters by families of BJP workers lynched to death, reports The Tribune. The report names Amardeep Singh Sindhu, Mahendra Singh and Jejender Singh Virk as accused. They have been booked under the same IPC sections as applied in the first FIR.