Lakhimpur Kheri violence witness attacked by armed assailants in UP

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP): A Bharatiya Kisan Union ( BKU ) leader, who is also a witness to the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021, was attacked by armed assailants on Tuesday.

Dilbag Singh was allegedly attacked by two unidentified men in the district when he was returning home from Aliganj-Muda road in the Gola Kotwali area in his SUV.

Mr. Singh, however, sustained no injuries in the attack.

Mr. Singh is among the witnesses in the Tikunia violence of October 3, 2021, in which eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, died. Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was arrested in connection with the incident.

Talking to PTI over the phone, the BKU leader said the shooters punctured a tyre of his SUV owing to which he had to stop the vehicle.

"They attempted to open the gates and windows of the SUV. When failed, they fired two shots at the windowpane of the driver's side," he said.

Mr Singh said he was driving the SUV and was alone.

He said sensing the intentions of the attackers, he folded the driver's seat and bent down towards the floor. As the vehicle windows were covered with dark film, the attackers could not decide the BKU leader's status in the SUV and fled away on their bikes.

Mr Singh said he had sent his official gunman (provided to him by the district administration) on leave owing to his son's sudden sickness on the day.

He lodged a complaint with Gola kotwali police soon after the attack. He added that he had also informed BKU-Tikait spokesperson Rakesh Tikait about the incident.

Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh told PTI that on the complaint of Dilbag Singh, an FIR under appropriate sections of IPC had been lodged.

He said forensic teams had been sent to the spot to examine the vehicle and the crime scene and collect evidence. He further said police were investigating the case and efforts were on to identify the attackers.

The ASP added that the BKU-Tikait district president sent his gunman on leave on his own without intimating the senior police authorities.

"If the matter of leave to his gunman had been intimated to us, we would have provided him another gunman as an alternative arrangement," he said.