UP Violence: The bodies of farmers were kept in glass cases this morning at Lakhimpur Kheri.
The bodies of four farmers who, according to their supporters, were run over by a car in a minister's convoy, were kept in glass cases this morning at Lakhimpur Kheri, a four-hour drive from Lucknow.
Farmers say that the son of union minister Ajay Mishra was driving the car; the minister has emphatically denied the allegations, but his son, Ashish Mishra, is the only person named in murder case.
The government of Uttar Pradesh has said the family of each farmer who died will be given 45 lakhs and that a retired High Court judge will determine who was responsible for the deaths. Apart from the farmers, a journalist and three BJP supporters were killed A after angry crowds erupted in violence and set several cars on fire.
Farmer leaders say that the four killed by the minister's convoy include an 18-year-old.
The violence is the worst since famers began a protest over a year ago against three new farm laws introduced by the centre, which farmers say, are designed to help corporates and are against their basic interests. The centre refutes this and says the laws will bring much-needed reforms to modernize agriculture and ensure better prices for produce.
At Lakhimpur Kheri yesterday, hundreds of farmers were convened at a protest site when a car in Mr Mishra's convoy, consisting of three vehicles, hit them. The minister later said that the driver of the car, who was not his son, lost control after stones were flung at it.
The police have banned gatherings, cut off mobile internet services, sent extra forces and detained several opposition figures on their way to the scene including Priyanka Gandhi from the Congress party. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Ms Gandhi said she had been arrested, not detained. "I am under arrest but the minister has not resigned, his son has not been arrested," she said, alleging "a complete collapse of democracy".
In Lucknow, Samjawadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was also detained. Dozens of opposition supporters staged a protest in the city and set fire to at least one police vehicle this morning.