Lakhimpur Kheri: farmers killed at a protest, a minister's son on trial

Who: Four farmers, named by SabrangIndia as Gurvinder Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Daljeet Singh and Nachattar Singh and described by Krishi Jagran as Punjabi farmers settled in Uttar Pradesh; the journalist Raman Kashyap; three men from the minister's convoy; and the accused, Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, and 13 others.

What: On 3 October 2021 farmers gathered at Tikonia village in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh, to protest a visit by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, during the Delhi morcha against the three farm laws. Vehicles in a convoy linked to Ajay Mishra ran into the protesters. According to the Uttar Pradesh Police FIR, four farmers were run over by an SUV in which Ashish Mishra was seated. The driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers, and Kashyap also died. Eight people died in all. The minister and his son have maintained their innocence.

Ashish Mishra was arrested on 9 October 2021. In December 2021 the police special investigation team told the court the violence was a "pre-planned conspiracy", and the magistrate allowed it to add attempt to murder and conspiracy charges. Charges were framed against 14 people on 6 December 2022. The Allahabad High Court granted Mishra bail in February 2022, and the Supreme Court cancelled it on 18 April 2022, criticising the state for not appealing. He was released again under a Supreme Court order, with regular bail on 22 July 2024 on condition that he stay in Delhi or Lucknow. In January 2023 the trial judge told the Supreme Court the trial of 208 witnesses could take about five years, and on 6 August 2026 the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, refused to relax his bail conditions while he faced trial.

Rakesh Tikait's talks with the state ended the stand-off, with Rs 45 lakh compensation for each family of the four farmers, a government job for one member of each, and a promise of action against the culprits. Punjab later gave cheques of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the four farmers and the journalist.

Where: Tikonia village, Lakhimpur Kheri district, in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh.

Why it mattered: The killings came nearly seven weeks before Narendra Modi announced the repeal of the farm laws on 19 November 2021. Rahul Gandhi and the Bharatiya Kisan Union led by Rakesh Tikait demanded Ajay Mishra's removal as minister. The four dead farmers bore Sikh names and were Punjabi settlers in the Terai, where Krishi Jagran says many Punjabi farmers descend from migrants given land after Partition. Almost five years on, the trial is still running.