Uttar Pradesh / Running over of farmers in Lakhimpur was a well-planned conspiracy: Police

Lucknow: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence has filed an application before the area’s chief judicial magistrate to add new sections against 13 accused, including Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, making their offence punishable under attempt to murder charges.

Vidhyaram Diwakar, the SIT’s investigating officer, filed the application on December 9 in the CJM’s court for adding new sections in the warrant, replacing sections 279, 338 and 304A of the IPC.

In his application, the investigating officer pointed out that the October 3 incident in Lakhimpur Kheri was a well-planned and deliberate act, not an act of negligence or callousness.

The investigating officer has requested to add sections 307 (Attempt to murder), 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code after replacing sections 279 ( Rash driving or riding on a public way), 338 (Whoever causes grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently) and 304A (Causing death by negligence) of the IPC.

Eight people, including four farmers and a local journalist, were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 in the violence that erupted during a farmers’ protest.

The SIT has so far arrested 13 people in the case. Those arrested are Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, Luvkush, Ashish Pandey, Sekhar Bharti, Ankit Das, Latif, Sishupal, Nandan Singh, Satyam Tripathi, Sumit Jaiswal, Dharmendra Banjara, Rinku Rana and Ullas Trivedi.

They are lodged in the Lakhimpur Kheri district prison.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on December 10 gave two weeks’ time to the state government to file a counter-affidavit on the bail application of Ashish Mishra. During the hearing of the case, additional advocate general Vinod Shahi, representing the state government, apprised the court about the ongoing investigation in the case.

Shahi said that statements of a large number of witnesses were still to be recorded. Accepting the plea, the court granted two weeks’ time to the state government to file a counter-affidavit on bail application of Ashish Mishra.