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Lakhimpur violence: SUV ploughed into farmers’ crowd from behind, say eyewitnesses
After a peaceful protest, we were walking down the road when an SUV knocked down my father, recalls 14-year-old boy, a witness to the violence in Tikunia
LUCKNOW Rajdeep Singh, 14, was with his father Daljeet Singh, a farmer, when the latter was allegedly mowed down by an SUV from behind on the Tikunia-Lakhimpur road on Sunday. “After peaceful protest, we were walking down the road when I heard a speeding SUV. It all happened in front of me… my father was knocked down by the vehicle. I tried to hold him but couldn’t do anything,” lamented Rajdeep.
He said this SUV was part of the cavalcade of Ashish Mishra, son of BJP minster Ajay Mishra Tani. These vehicles were deployed to welcome UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and were on their way back after his visit was cancelled. After a peaceful protest, the farmers including Daljeet Singh were also returning home.
“As my father lay unconscious on the road, my uncle held his head in his hands. That was the last thing I remember,” said Rajdeep who fainted on the road after witnessing the violence and arson.
Harpreet Singh, 28, another farmer, was standing on the roof of a house on the road along with at least 20 others and saw the carnage unfold from a vantage point.
“The road was packed with farmers who were returning from the venue. They were stopping to take photographs and selfies, which slowed the movement and led to further crowding on the road. Meanwhile, I saw three cars leaving the playground. The SUV leading the pack began accelerating, and some farmers had a close shave, with this vehicle nearly hitting them,” he said.
“This SUV kept speeding till it reached the spot where farmers had assembled. I saw it plough into the crowd from behind. To save themselves, farmers jumped into ditches on both sides of the road. It appeared like a tractor moving through a paddy field, crushing the plants and leaving tyre marks behind. People started shouting…I couldn’t believe my eyes,” added Harpreet.
Moments after the accident, this SUV was forced to stop and the people inside it jumped out and started running. The second SUV in the cavalcade tried to take a sharp turn and escape, but lost balance and landed in a ditch on the other side of the road.
A farmer, Balvinder Singh Mangat, 39, who was standing here, hardly 10 metres ahead with his friends, said: “We heard a thumping sound of a vehicle moving from behind into the farmers’ crowd, followed by cries of farmers. The second SUV was seen going down into the ditch. But I was alarmed when I saw a third car speeding towards us. We pushed ourselves on the sides of the culvert to escape being hit and saw this third car fleeing,” recalled Mangat.
Within minutes, the road which was crowded with farmers, was left barren as people jumped into ditches on either side for safety.
“Everything was quiet for around 30 seconds, before people started coming out to check the injured and the dead lying on the road. Everyone looked alarmed and some were angry. People started calling out for help and cars were brought in to ferry the injured. I saw people running behind the driver of the first SUV,” said Joginder Singh Virk, another farmer who jumped into the ditch.
According to the police, the angry farmers lynched four people, including the drivers of the SUVS and a local journalist. Both the vehicles were set ablaze by the time additional police force reached the spot.
