Lakhimpur Kheri violence: SIT arrests 2 in connection with lynching of BJP workers

Lakhimpur, Oct 26: The SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case on Tuesday arrested two people in connection with the lynching of BJP workers, according to a statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Eight people were killed in the October 3 violence and of them four were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles.

The other dead included two BJP workers, their driver and a journalist.

Gurvinder Singh and Vichitra Singh have been arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the statement issued by the police's Crime Branch-Lakhimpur said, adding that the arrests pertain to a FIR registered in the case on a complaint by Sumit Jaiswal on October 4.

Jaiswal, a BJP ward member who has been arrested in the case, claimed that ''bad elements'' among farm law protesters attacked BJP workers. The FIR had no reference to the mowing down of farmers.

In another FIR, registered on a complaint lodged by Bahraich-based Jagjit Singh, in the case, BJP leader and Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra has been named as accused besides 15 to 20 unidentified persons. This came after, farmers claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles that mowed down the four farmers.

On the basis of Jaiswal's complaint, police had charged ''unnamed rioters'' under Indian Penal Code sections such as 302 (murder), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means).

While Gurvinder Singh, son of Gurmez Singh, is the resident of Mokramau Aliganj in Lakhmipur Kheri district's Gola area, Vichitra Singh, son of Lakhwinder Singh, is a resident of Bheera in the same district, the Crime Branch-Lakhimpur said in the statement but did not elaborate.

The FIR registered on Jaiwal's complaint said: ''The bad elements in the farmers' protest had attacked the vehicle with bamboo sticks, bricks and stones due to which driver Hari Om got injured and stopped the car on the road side.''

According to his complaint, journalist Raman Kashyap, car driver Hari Om and BJP workers Shubham Mishra and Shyam Sunder were lynched by protesters. Thirteen persons, including Ashish Mishra, have been arrested so far on the basis of the FIR registered on the complaint of Jagjit Singh.

The others arrested include BJP ward member Jaiswal, Ankit Das, Latif alias Kale, Shekhar Bharti, Shishu Pal, Satya Prakash Tripathi alias Satyam, Nandan Singh Bisht, Ashish Pandey and Lavkush Rana, Mohit Trivedi, Ranku Rana and and Dharmendra.

According to the Jagjit Singh FIR the violence was ''premeditated'' and for it a ''conspiracy was hatched'' by the minister and his son.

The FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 147, 148, 149 (all three related to rioting), 279 (rash driving), 338 (causes grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 304A (causing death by negligence), 302 (murder), 120B (party to a criminal conspiracy).