The Supreme Court today asked the Uttar Pradesh government to explain who are the accused against whom FIR has been lodged in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. It also asked the UP government to explain whether the accused in the case have been arrested yet. The top court ordered the government to file a status report of the case.
The UP government then said that it will file a status report in the case, following which the court listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.
The court also clarified that it did not take up the Lakhimpur case suo motu and there was a communication problem. It said that the case was taken up after a plea was filed by two lawyers — Shiv Kumar Tripathi and C S Panda.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court said that it would like to hear the two lawyers who wrote a letter seeking a high-level judicial inquiry, also involving the CBI, into the incident.
As many as eight people were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Those dead include four farmers and a journalist. Four farmers died after a car belonging to MoS Ajay Mishra Teni’s son allegedly mowed down the agitators. The incident triggered violence in which four more people were allegedly killed by an unruly mob. The Uttar Pradesh police have already registered an FIR in the case which has also named Ashish Mishra Teni, son of the union minister. No arrest has been made in the case so far.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also announced Rs 45 lakh compensation to each farmer and promised a government job for a member of each farmer’s family. The UP government has also formed a single-member commission headed by a retired High Court judge to probe the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
The incident has triggered a major political storm with an array of opposition leaders training their guns at the BJP government.