News Analysis India

Tag: violence

  • LS polls: Farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri await justice

    Amid the rising political heat, people in Tikunia area of Lakhimpur Kheri still remember the unforgettable incident that shook the country three years ago.

    Eight people including a journalist and four farmers were killed when violence broke out after an SUV ran over a group of protesting farmers in October of 2021.

    “I pass by this place everyday. We have tried a lot to forget what happened here but every time we approach this place, the images of that day flash before our eyes,” said Manjeet Singh, a resident of Tikunia pointing towards the ground where the farmers held the protest against the three controversial farm laws, which have been scrapped now. This ground lies on one side of the narrow road leading towards Tikunia, a small town located on the northern most corner of Lakhimpur Kheri district, over 215 km away from state capital Lucknow. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States”The ground is a constant reminder of how nothing happens to a person with political influence,” said Satwant Singh, another Tikunia resident who participated in the protest and was a witness to the incidents. Ashish Mishra ‘Monu’, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, was made an accused in the case. Ashish Mishra was arrested after the incidents but is currently out on bail. “Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ was awarded by the BJP for the incident. The party did nothing to him and has now given him a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls,” said Rajdeep Singh, another resident who was injured in the incident. The BJP has renominated Ajay Mishra from the Lakhimpur Kheri seat. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Utkarsh Verma and the BSP Anshay Kalra. Voting will be held on May 13.

    The 2021 incident occurred in Tikunia but almost all the victims were from different places in the district.

    Mandeep Singh, the son of an elderly farmer Nacchatar Singh who was killed after being run over by the SUV, said, “We were shown how important we are in the incident. Nobody from the government has till date asked about us. We want this to change, we want to see the accused behind bars.”

    Singh declined to comment on the ongoing elections but said he wants to see a change. “Like every other farmer and local we want to see a change.”

    Surendra Singh, a relative of another victim Lovepreet Singh and also a member of farmers union, said, “This was an attack on farmers who produce grains to feed the entire country. We will continue to fight for justice.”

    The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) unit in Lakhimpur Kheri had objected to the candidature of Ajay Mishra.

    “This is nothing but disrespect to those killed in Tikunia and all farmers. The farmers will respond to this by their votes,” said Surinder Singh Virk, an office bearer of the farmers union.

    Though farmers, especially from the Sikh community in Tikunia and nearby areas, express anger over the incident, the same emotion is not reflected by people of other communities, particularly outside Tikunia.

    “What happened in Tikunia was wrong, nobody will support such an act but we need to come together and move ahead for development of Lakhimpur,” said Prabhat Singh, a former village head in Palia area of the district.

    SP president Akhilesh Yadav has talked about the episode in his public meeting held here but his party candidate Utkarsh Verma has made only passing reference in his public meetings.

    BSP’s Kalra, who himself comes from the Sikh community, has raised the issue in his public meetings in Palia and Nighasan area.

  • BJP forms 6-member panel to inquire Sandeshkhali sexual harassment incidents

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formed a six-member committee of Union Ministers and MPs to visit Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North Pargana district and collect information about the alleged incidents of sexual harassment and violence against women there.

    Union Minister Annapurna Devi has been named as the convenor of the high-level committee.

    Other members of the panel are Pratima Bhowmik, BJP MPs Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav, and Brijlal.They have been directed to visit the incident site, take stock of the situation, talk to the victims, and submit their report to BJP Party President JP Nadda.

    Nadda, in the notification, said that the alleged incidents are “heart-wrenching.”

    He further said that the incidents of harassment of women and hooliganism are “happening continuously in West Bengal” while the administration there remains a “mute spectator.””Law and order have collapsed in the entire state,” he added.Tension simmered in the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas district’s Basirhat subdivision on Tuesday during a protest by BJP workers led by state party president Sukanta Majumder against the alleged sexual harassment of women.

    Women in Sandeshkhali have been agitating for the last few days over alleged atrocities committed against them by TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides.

    Majumdar sustained injuries during the police lathicharge as a scuffle broke out between the police and party workers.

    The West Bengal government has reimposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in and around 500 metres of area in seven-gram panchayats, including Sandeshkhali.

    Sector 144 has been imposed in the area till February 19 to maintain law and order in view of the agitation by the BJP over allegations of sexual harassment by women in Sandeshkhali block.

    The political storm over the events at Bengal’s Sandeshkhali sparked violence in another part of the state on Tuesday.

    BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia slammed the West Bengal government on Wednesday over allegations of sexual harassment by women in Sandeshkhali block, and said that CM Mamata Banerjee is acting as a silent spectator.

    Addressing a press conference, Bhatia said that in West Bengal the law of the “anarchy ruler Mamata Banerjee prevails.”

    “West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is acting as a silent spectator. This is a matter of concern. This press conference highlights the lawlessness that prevails in West Bengal, where it is clear to every citizen that the rule of law does not prevail or exist, rather the law of the anarchy ruler Mamata Banerjee prevails,” he said,

    “When the perpetrator of the crime happens to be a TMC goon, the chief minister of the state doesn’t even care to uphold the dignity of the women of the state, especially Hindu women, being targeted by the goons of Sheikh Shahjahan, the absconder,” he added.

    Coming down heavily on the Chief Minister, the BJP leader alleged that West Bengal has turned into a state run by a government of rapists.

    “It will not be wrong to say that West Bengal has turned into a state where there is a government run by the rapist, of the rapist, for the rapist. Instead of standing in support of the victims, Mamata Banerjee is supporting the rapist,” Bhatia said.

    Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head Amit Malviya took to X and slammed the West Bengal Police, accusing it of ‘pleasing’ Mamata Banerjee.

    “West Bengal police have crossed all limits. They have violated every rule in the book to please Mamata Banerjee, who is evil, and hasn’t stopped using rape and torture of Hindu women in Sandeskhali, for her politics,” he said.

    He further said that the party will not allow “women in West Bengal to become objects of lust for Mamata Banerjee’s criminal syndicate.”

    “Let Mamata Banerjee and the WB Police know that they can’t crush the BJP’s movement for justice for women in Sandeshkhali. We won’t allow women in West Bengal to become objects of lust for Mamata Banerjee’s criminal syndicate. The fight will continue,” he added.

    The Trinamool Congress has, however, blamed the BJP for trying to vitiate the atmosphere in Sandeshkhali.

    “The only motive of the BJP was to create issues and indulge in hooliganism while going to Sandeshkhali or reaching near the place. Stone pelting ensued, and people were injured there. They (BJP) say that women must be respected…Smriti Irmade instigating statements. The TMC condemns the conduct of the BJP, under the leadership of Sukanta Majumdar,” TMC Spokesperson Sashi Panja said.

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  • Rahul Gandhi to be arrested after Lok Sabha elections: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, against whom an FIR has been registered here on the charge of instigating violence will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday. The Assam police suo motu registered the FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other leaders for “wanton acts of violence” here during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ on Tuesday.

    ”We have filed an FIR. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will conduct the investigation and he (Gandhi) will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections”, Sarma said on the sidelines of a programme at Nazira in Sibsagar district.

    The Lok Sabha elections are due within a few months in the country. Director General of Police G P Singh said that the case has been transferred to the Assam CID for a thorough investigation through an SIT to be constituted by the Additional Director General of Police (CID).

    Sarma had instructed the DGP to register a case against Gandhi for provoking the crowd to break barricades in an attempt to enter Guwahati city during the Yatra on Tuesday leading to a scuffle with the police in which some senior Congress leaders, including the state party President Bhupen Bora and leader of opposition in the state assembly, and four police personnel were injured.

    The FIR was filed against Congress leaders under IPC sections that deal with criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharging their duty, damaging public property and others.