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Attack on Lakhimpur case witness: Initial ballistic report hints at contradictory facts
Dilbag Singh, the district president of BKU’s Lakhimpur Kheri unit, had escaped an attempt on his life when two unidentified bike-borne armed men allegedly intercepted his SUV and fired at it on May 31
Two points shared in the preliminary report of forensic and ballistic experts in the alleged firing on the SUV of a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) office-bearer Dilbag Singh, a key witness in the October 3, 2021 violence case in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Tikunia, suggested that the “facts” told by the complainant were contradictory, said police officials on Friday.
Besides, the police got the statement of one of the two witnesses in the incident Jitendra Verma recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC before the judicial magistrate so that he may not change his version.
Dilbag Singh, the district president of BKU’s Lakhimpur Kheri unit, had escaped an attempt on his life when two unidentified bike-borne armed men allegedly intercepted his SUV and fired at it on May 31 night. The incident took place on Aliganj-Muda Sawaran road in Lakhimpur Kheri when he was driving back home alone after dropping his two accomplices Chhotu and Jitendra Verma around 9pm.
Sharing a press note on twitter, Lakhimpur police stated that the ballistic experts hinted that the “facts” told by the complainant during recreation of the sequence of the incident done by a three-member team of forensic experts on Thursday were contradictory.
The press note further said the firing on the SUV tyre took place when the vehicle was not in the moving state while the complainant had stated that he stopped his SUV when its tyre got punctured due to firing.
It also said the forensic team discovered that similarly the firing on the windows of the SUV took place from both left and right sides when the vehicle was not moving while the complainant had told that the assailants opened firing after coming close to the driving seat.
Earlier, superintendent of police, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sanjeev Suman had said the statements of two people, Chhotu and Jitendra Verma, whom the complainant had dropped a few minutes before the incident, were contradictory.
They revealed that the complainant had talked to them about his plan of an attack on himself around two months ago as he was facing difficulty in getting an arms licence. “The statement of Jitendra Verma was also recorded before the judicial magistrate on Thursday,” the press note said.
The SP said the detailed report of the experts was still awaited and further action will be initiated in the case after receiving it. He also stated another police gunner had been deployed in Dilbag Singh’s security on Thursday itself as the previous gunner was sent on leave by the complainant himself without informing the police.
Another video of Jitendra Verma surfaced on Friday in which he was purportedly seen alleging that police officials were mounting pressure on him to give statement as per their wish. Other BKU leaders, including Dilbag Singh, are also visible standing with him in the video. He said the police officials stated that everything was in his (Jitendra Verma’s) knowledge. On the other hand, the police officials said Verma would have informed the judicial magistrate if he was under any pressure.
