Two days after Lakhimpur Kheri violence, life inches to normal in UP district

News agency PTI reported on Tuesday that regular activities resumed near the Lakhimpur railway station and other market areas where vendors and shops were found to be functioning as usual.

Life is limping back to normalcy in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, two days after violence erupted during a farmers’ protest in the district on Sunday, sparking national outrage against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government in the state as well as at the Centre. Eight people died in Sunday’s incident, of which four were protesting farmers while the remaining four were occupants of the vehicles which allegedly ran over the farmers.

Security personnel were standing vigil at scattered place on the way to Tikonia village on Tuesday, where violence unfolded on Sunday. (PTI Photo. Representative image)

News agency PTI reported on Tuesday that regular activities resumed near the Lakhimpur railway station and other market areas where vendors and shops were found to be functioning as usual. “We have to take care of our livelihood also and that’s why we are working,” Binod Singh, a vendor near the railway station, told the news agency.

Security personnel were standing vigil at scattered place on the way to Tikonia village on Tuesday, where violence unfolded on Sunday.

Children were seen heading to schools and coaching centres. While vehicles, including public transport, were operating normally in Lakhimpur Kheri as well as in Tikonia. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are still in force in the district while internet services also remain restricted.

PTI also reported that there was a significant police presence in Naghasan tehsil on the way to Tikonia under which Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni’s native village, Banbirpur, falls.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) alleged that one of the deceased farmers was shot dead by Teni’s son Ashish on Sunday and others were allegedly run over by the vehicles of his convoy. An FIR has been registered against Ashish Mishra and others.

The police station in Tikonia was operating as usual but police personnel refused to speak on the FIRs registered and subsequent action taken in Sunday’s incident in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced on Monday that it will provide ₹45 lakh as ex-gratia to the families of the four deceased farmers. While the injured will get ₹10 lakh each. The government also said that a retired high court judge will investigate the incident.

However, on Tuesday, two lawyers wrote a letter to the Supreme Court demanding that the investigation should be done in a time-bound manner under the supervision of the apex court. The lawyers sought the setting up of a high-level judicial inquiry under the supervision of the court involving the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in stipulated time.

(With PTI inputs)