Rahul Gandhi on way to Lakhimpur Kheri after UP Govt's permission

Lucknow: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has arrived at Lucknow airport as the Uttar Pradesh government granted permission to all political parties to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people died as violence erupted during a farmers' protest three days back. PTI quoted Awanish Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home saying that only five people will be allowed to visit the site at a time.

According to a Twitter update by ANI, Gandhi is accompanied by party leaders Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Channi, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

Earlier in the day, the state government had denied permission to Rahul Gandhi to visit the violence-hit district, while his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been detained at the PAC compound in Sitapur since Monday morning

Priyanka Gandhi was on her way to meet the families of farmers killed in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri when she was detained.

Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot landed in Delhi on Wednesday morning and set out for Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh by road straight from the airport, reports PTI quoting his close aids.

Pilot, who arrived at Delhi on a flight from Jaipur, will also try to visit Lakhimpur to meet the grieving families, says the report.

The report also says that Pilot's motorcade was stopped at multiple places on the way by police personnel who searched the cars and asked him questions before letting him proceed.

Four of the eight people who died in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The four others included two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

While the first three were allegedly lynched by agitating farmers, the scribe, according to his father, died after being hit by a vehicle when he was covering news of farmers' protest against Maurya's visit to Ajay Mishra's native place.

The UP Police has lodged a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son but no arrest has been made.