SC takes cognisance of Lakhimpur incident, CJI-led bench to hear case today

The letter by the two advocates had urged the CJI to treat it as public interest litigation (PIL) so that guilty could be brought to justice

The Supreme Court has decided to hear on Thursday the Lakhimpur Kheri case of Uttar Pradesh in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest. 

According to the cause list uploaded on the apex court website, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli would hear the matter.

Eight people were killed on October 3 as violence erupted during a farmers' protest claiming the lives of both farmers and BJP workers ahead of a visit to Lakhimpur by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Late on Wednesday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met family members of a farmer who died.

Farmer cremated

Gurvinder Singh alias Gyaniji, one of the four farmers killed in the violence, was cremated on Wednesday after a second autopsy was conducted on him as demanded by his family, police said.

Family members of the 22-year-old, who was from Moharia village of Bahraich district, had earlier refused to cremate him, claiming he was shot dead but the post-mortem report had no mention of it.

They had received the support from farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and Punjabi singer Sonia Maan.

With the Uttar Pradesh government agreeing to their demand, a second post-mortem was conducted Tuesday night by a team of experts from Lucknow, Superintendent of Police Sujata Singh said.

Hours later, Gurvinder Singh was cremated by his family members at his village in the presence of Tikait, ADG (Gorakhpur) Akhil Kumar and senior police and administration officials, Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Ashok Kumar said.

The post-mortem report will be prepared under the supervision of the experts who conducted it, SP Singh said. District Magistrate Dinesh Chandra Singh said the family members of Gurvinder Singh had raised objections on the post-mortem done earlier.

“With the permission of the state government, it was done again and videographed as well,” he added.

Gurvinder Singh's uncle Sukhdev Singh told PTI, “The post-mortem was done in front of us and our leaders. At that time doctors told us that Gurvinder was not shot.”

"When in both post-mortems, doctors say that he was not shot, we had not option left but to cremate him,” he added.

The district administration, meanwhile, sent cheques of Rs 45 lakh each to the families of two farmers of the district who had died in the violence.

One cheque has been handed over to Sukhwinder Singh's father Gurvinder Singh, the DM said.

Regarding the other farmer, the DM said, "On reaching Banjaran Tanda village to provide cheque to Paramjit Kaur, the wife of deceased Daljit Singh, we came to know that she has gone out for immersion of her husband's ashes.” The cheque was then handed over to the Nanpara SDM in the presence of the relatives and villagers with the instruction that it should be handed over as soon as Kaur returned, the DM said.

The three other dead farmers were cremated at their native places on Tuesday. The UP government is facing massive flak after eight people were killed in violence during a protest against the farm laws in Lakhimpur on Sunday.

Four of the dead were farmers who were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers. The four others included two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

While the first three were allegedly lynched by agitating farmers, the scribe, according to his father, died after being hit by a vehicle when he was covering news of farmers' protest against the visit of UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Ajay Mishra's native place.

The UP Police has lodged a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, Ashish, but no arrest has been made.