Four more people have been arrested, including a BJP politician who was spotted inside the SUV that mowed down farmers demonstrating in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
Sumit Jaiswal, Shishi Pal, Satya Prakash Tripathi alias Satyam, and Nandan Singh Bisht are among those being held, according to the police.
Sumit Jaiswal, the local BJP leader who was seen escaping from the lead SUV in the convoy of vehicles that crushed the farmers in a viral video, had previously filed a murder FIR against unnamed farmers, alleging that his driver, friend, and two BJP workers were beaten to death after their vehicles lost control due to heavy stone pelting and accidentally pressed growers.
In the viral footage, Jaiswal can be seen fleeing from a Thar SUV that drove into demonstrators.
On Monday, Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, and others accused in the case were transferred from police detention to judicial custody.
The October 3 violence during a farmers’ demonstration in the Tikonia area of the district killed eight people, including four farmers, and the incident turned into a significant political crisis over the alleged involvement of the Union minister’s son.
“The Crime Branch of the Lakhimpur Kheri police, working with the SWAT unit, apprehended four people on Monday.” The accused is being interrogated by SIT investigators and other senior authorities, and a further investigation is continuing,” the UP police said in a statement.
