Amid the uproar surrounding the Lakhimpur Kheri unrest, a second FIR was registered in connection with the case on Monday, 4 October, based on the complaint of a local BJP leader, Sumit Jaiswal.
Jaiswal, who had lodged his complaint at the Tikunia police station in Uttar Pradesh, stated that the protesting farmers had attacked a vehicle, that was carrying him and others, with sticks and stones.
Eight persons, including four farmers, had died in Lakhimpur on Sunday. An FIR under the charges of murder and rioting had been filed against the son of Union Minister Ajay Teni Misra, who was allegedly driving the car that had run over three farmers in Lakhimpur.
A purported video of the incident, shared widely on social media, appears to depict Sumit Jaiswal as sitting in one of the cars of the convoy.
What Does the FIR Say?
Jaiswal, in his complaint, has alleged that the convoy of cars had been attacked by sticks and swords, and that the protesting farmers had dragged his friend Shubham Mishra and the driver Hariom out of the car.
The BJP leader said that he had managed to flee from the car amid the violence, and had later learnt from social media that Hariom and Shubham Mishra had been killed in the attack.
The FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 336 (endangering others' lives), and 302 (murder).
"Yes, I am that man in the video. We were under attack from farmers...I somehow got away alive," Jaiswal was quoted as saying by NDTV.
"We were at the programme venue. There was an atmosphere of fear. They were armed with sticks and rocks and they kept attacking us, abusing us," he added.
Murder, Rioting FIR Against Union Minister's Son Ashish Misra
A First Information Report (FIR) under various sections, including murder, had been filed against the son of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Ajay Misra, Ashish Misra, and 15 unknown persons, on Monday, 4 October.
A convoy of cars had allegedly run over three farmers at Lakhimpur on Sunday. One of the cars, owned by Ashish Misra, had allegedly been driven by the Union minister's son.
An FIR has been filed against Misra and others at the Tikunia Police Station in Kheri district under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (vicarious liability of members of an unlawful assembly for the crime), 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life), 304-A (causing death by negligence), 302 (murder) and 120-B (commencement and continuance of the right of private defence of the body).
Union Minister Misra and his son, on their part, have denied any role in the violence. The duo has claimed that Ashish Misra was not present in the convoy of cars that had been sent to Lakhimpur.
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