On October 18, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested four more people in connection to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The arrested people have been identified as Sumit Jaiswal, Shishi Pal, Satya Prakash Tripathi alias Satyam and Nandan Singh Bisht. The total number of people arrested in the case have reached 10.
In a statement, UP Police said, “Four persons were arrested on Monday by the Crime Branch of the Lakhimpur Kheri police along with the SWAT team. The SIT investigators and other senior officials are interrogating the accused, and further probe is underway.” SWAT team also recovered a revolver and live rounds from Tripathi.
Satyam Tiwari’s name came up during interrogation of Ankit Das, Shekhar Bharti (Das’s driver) and Lateef (Das’s security guard). Indian Express quoted an unnamed police officer saying, “Accused Shekhar Bharti told police that Satyam Tiwari of Kaushambi was driving one of the SUVs on the day of the incident.” Another officer was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, “The accused will be questioned about the incident and their role in it. We will also apply for their police custody remand if they fail to cooperate in the interrogation.”
Earlier, police had arrested six people in the case, including Ashish Mishra, Luvkush Pandey, Ashish Pandey, Shekhar Bharti, Lateef and Ankit Das.
Lakhimpur Violence Case
On October 3, a ‘farmer’ mob attacked a BJP convoy with stones and sticks in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. Amid the ensuing commotion, a vehicle was seen running over the protestors. Following that the angry mob of protestors had burned two vehicles, dragged the people inside the vehicle and had beaten them to death.
A total of eight people lost their lives in the violence. The incident turned into a major political drama over the past couple of weeks. So far, ten arrests have been made in the case. Uttar Pradesh government has given Rs. 45 lakh to the kin of the deceased and promised government job to one member of the family. A one-member committee has also been formed to probe the case.
