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Lakhimpur witness shot at in UP
Police said two unidentified armed men on a bike intercepted the SUV Dilbag Singh was travelling in and fired on it.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Dilbag Singh, a witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, was allegedly attacked by unidentified armed men, police said on Wednesday.
Singh, however, escaped unhurt, police added. It isn’t immediately clear if there is a link between the attack and the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which four farmers were mowed down by a vehicle belonging to the Union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra. His son, Ashish, is the main accused in the case.
The incident took place along Aliganj-Muda Sawaran road under Gola police station limits on Tuesday night when Singh was travelling alone, police said. In his complaint, the BKU leader claimed that at around 9 pm, two armed men intercepted his vehicle and opened fire at it.
Singh alleged that the assailants fired multiple shots at the vehicle. He said the accused tried to open the window of vehicle and when they failed, fired another round of shots before escaping, police said.
“The assailants attempted to open the doors and windows of the vehicle. When they failed, they fired two shots at the window pane of the driver side,” Singh later told news agency PTI.
The BKU leader said he folded the driver seat and bent down towards the floor to escape the firing.Singh said he was alone in the vehicle and was driving on his own as his police guard (provided to him by district administration) was on leave.
The BKU leader said he has filed a complaint at Gola police station and also informed his colleague, Rakesh Tikait, who was recently attacked in Bengaluru. Tikait was attending an event when some unidentified miscreants threw ink at him on Monday.
“An FIR has been registered under section 307 (murder) of Indian Penal Code against unknown assailants. Police visited the spot after attack and spoke to Singh. A probe is underway and efforts are on to identify the attackers,” additional superintendent of police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh said.
Forensic teams have also rushed to the spot where the alleged attack took place, to examine the vehicle and the crime scene. Three bullets which hit the vehicle have been recovered, he added.
The ASP also said police were not informed that Singh’s guard was on leave. “If this was brought to our notice, another gunman would have been provided,” he said.
Singh is among witnesses in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case which left eight people dead on October 3 last year.
Hardeep Singh, another key witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, had accused a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and others of attacking and threatening him when he was returning from a gurudwara in Rampur district on April 10. Subsequently, he lodged an FIR against former BJP district general secretary Meher Singh Deol, one Siravjeet Singh Ghumman and three unidentified persons.
While a probe into his allegation is underway, police officials said the alleged incident appeared to be a case of road rage and had no links with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, is the main accused in the violence wherein a vehicle belonging to the minister allegedly mowed down four farmers and a journalist during a protest against the now-repealed agricultural laws in Tikunia area. Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and a driver were lynched in the violence that followed.
Farmers maintain that Ashish Mishra was in the lead car that ran over people. The minister and his son have denied the latter’s involvement in the incident.
Ashish Mishra, who was in jail since October 9, was released on bail on February 15 following an order of the Allahabad high court. However, on April 25, Ashish surrendered and returned to jail after the Supreme Court set aside his bail.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court is scheduled to hear Ashish’s fresh bail plea on July 8.
