Hardeep Singh has lodged a complaint with the police regarding the attack.
Lucknow:
Another witness in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri case, in which a Union minister’s son is accused of driving farmers away, has alleged that he was attacked and threatened not to testify.
Hardeep Singh said that he was attacked by a group of people in Rampur district on Sunday over his role as a witness in the case involving Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra, who is an MP from Lakhimpur.
“I was returning after worshiping at the gurudwara. A car came from behind with three-four people. There were three-four more people in the other car. I was stopped. One of them started beating me. The other hit me from behind. I was hit with a stick and the butt of a pistol. They said, ‘If you go to testify, we will shoot you’, Mr. Singh said.
He named local BJP leaders Meher Singh Dayal and Saranabjit Singh in Rampur.
The police, however, opposed the allegation saying they had found no connection to the Lakhimpur Kheri case, in which Mr Mishra is accused of ramming farmers with an SUV during a protest march in Lakhimpur Kheri last year.
“Based on the complaint of Hardeep Singh, son of Hardeep Singh, the investigation of the officials and the testimony of the eyewitnesses, the incident prima facie appears to be of road rage. So far, we have not found any connection with the Lakhimpur violence. Action is the case. Action is being taken against the three accused and others named in the case.”
Mr Singh is the second witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri case to accuse him of assault. In March a witness was attacked and threatened by the attackers citing the BJP’s victory in the recent UP election, with farmer groups alleging that Ashish Mishra’s bail should be canceled as he is a threat to witnesses. .
On October 3, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri. Three more, including BJP workers, were killed in the violence that followed, after the convoy of the Union minister’s son crushed four farmers and a journalist.
The Supreme Court, which is hearing Mr Mishra’s plea for cancellation of bail, had asked the state government to ensure security of witnesses.