Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni on Sunday blamed the local police and administration for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, reported News18.
According to the report, Ajay Mishra Teni said that the Lakhimpur Kheri incident was unfortunate and the way the incident took place in the presence of officials shows the negligence of both police and the administration.
Ajay Mishra Teni made the remarks on Sunday while attending a prayer meeting at Singha Khurd village for three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers who during the incident. He alleged that no barricades were put on the route which was taken by the protesters.
"Farmers were allowed to take over a road and then the route was not barricaded by police. Shyam Sundar Nishad, one of the workers was alive with police and had reached an ambulance but was dragged out and killed. The guilty cops will not be spared and the government will conduct a probe against them,” the Union Minister was quoted as saying by News18.
Four of the eight people who died in the violence on October 3 were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included three BJP workers.
Farmers have claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and Ajay Mishra who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time. Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case on October 9.
Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a six-hour-long nationwide 'Rail roko' agitation on October 18 demanding the removal of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni from the Union Cabinet over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which his son Ashish Mishra Teni is an accused.
(With inputs from PTI)
