An injured protester claims that Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish was driving the car that ran over farmers two days after eight people were killed in rioting in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri.
Tejinder Virk, a patient at Medanta, said it was sad that the man had not been apprehended even after 72 hours.
On Sunday, Mr Virk organised a protest against a Union Minister’s visit to the area for an event.
“This was a plot to assassinate us. Farmers would not be allowed in Uttar Pradesh, let alone Lakhimpur, according to Ajay Mishra. We were expressing our displeasure with this statement. We were in constant contact with the cops and the administration. We were waving black flags at him as we stood along the path,” Mr Virk told NDTV that he was being treated for severe wounds.
“At 3 p.m., we were informed that their itinerary had altered. We started walking back in a calm manner. Suddenly, we were slammed from behind by rushing cars. The car was travelling at a speed of over 100 km/h. They deliberately ran us over. In the car were Ajay Mishra’s son and his men. Then I went unconscious.”
An enraged throng later attacked the convoy, according to Mr Virk. “Some of them were saved by our people, and they were handed over to the cops.”
Mr Virk demanded the Union Minister’s dismissal.
“I am prepared to testify. The government of Yogi Adityanath is assisting the assailants “he stated
Simranjeet Singh, a farmer, alleges he witnessed people abandoning the convoy’s automobiles, firing shots, and fleeing.
He said, however, that he couldn’t see who was driving the SUV that slammed into the demonstrators.
It began as a peaceful demonstration against the Union Minister’s arrival, with black flags being waved in his face. Within three minutes, the cars collided with the demonstrators, and several individuals were injured.
“I was a volunteer who was in charge of the langar. Then a Thar, Fortuner, and Scorpio (three cars in the convoy) sped up to 80-100 kilometres per hour. Our farmers were crushed from behind by the Thar “Singh stated.
Singh claimed of the Thar’s driver, ” “Everything happened in a flash. There were men standing on both sides of the Thar. The cars were travelling at a tremendous rate, as evidenced by video.”
He stated he witnessed five to seven persons emerge from the automobiles, all of them were firing continuously.
He claimed that the demonstrators had already announced that they would be marching on that road and had advised the minister’s staff to move their vehicles.
“I believe they were under the impression that everything had been so quiet… but something had to happen. They went after us, and the farmers were run over.”
Singh and other volunteers assisted in transporting the injured to the hospital. Lovepreet Singh, 19, requested his father to “come soon” from the hospital, but he died before he could see his family.
The Chenab Times News Desk