Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh):
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) official Dilbag Singh, an eyewitness of the attack on protesting farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021 had a narrow escape late on Tuesday night when two unidentified armed men attacked him.
The police said two unidentified armed men on a bike intercepted the SUV of BKU’s Lakhimpur Kheri district president Dilbag Singh and opened fire on him.
Dilbag Singh said that his police guard was on leave at the time of the attack, as his son was ill. He said the attackers fired at his SUV, which punctured one of his tires. The SUV was hit by three bullets and the attackers also tried to open the car window. The attackers fled after firing several shots at the vehicle.
Dilbag Singh said he has lodged a complaint with the police and investigators have visited the spot besides speaking to him. He also informed BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, who was attacked before throwing ink, at a press meet in Bengaluru on Monday.
Additional Superintendent of Police Arun Kumar Singh said that they have registered an FIR on the complaint of Dilbagh Singh. Police visited the spot after the attack and spoke to Dilbagh Singh to record his statement about the attack. Forensic teams have been sent to the spot to investigate the SUV and the crime scene, he said. Investigations and efforts to identify the attackers are underway.
He said he was not informed that the farmer leader’s guard was on leave. Had it been brought to our notice, another gunman would have been provided.
Union Minister of State Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra is the main accused in a case related to Lakhimpur Kheri violence. On October 3, 2021, a car allegedly belonging to the Mishra family rammed four farmers and a journalist in protest against agricultural laws. Three people died in the violence that followed.
Mishra was arrested on October 9 in the farmers’ death case and was granted bail in February before the Supreme Court quashed it.
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