Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday demanded that Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra be sacked and that his son be arrested in connection with the death of farmers during a protest in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri.
He also demanded Rs one crore compensation and a government job for the family members of the deceased farmers.
"After our demands are met, then only we will cremate them (farmers)," he said at a press conference.
Eight people were killed on Sunday 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.
Four of the dead were people in the cars, apparently a part of a convoy of BJP workers who had come to welcome the UP minister. They were allegedly thrashed to death. The four others were farmers, officials said.
Farmer leaders had claimed that the minister's son Ashish Mishra was in one of the cars which they alleged knocked down some protesters who were opposing the deputy CM's visit.
However, Ajay Mishra said he and his son were not present at the spot as alleged by some farmer leaders and he has photo and video evidence to prove it.
During the press conference, farmers also alleged that Ashish Mishra opened fire on farmers.
Asked about certain comments made by Ajay Mishra in purported videos that have surfaced on social media, Mr Tikait said the atmosphere in the region was being vitiated over the last 10 days.
Mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of the violence-hit district, where restrictions under CrPC section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, has also been imposed, according to officials.
The UP Police took to Twitter early on Monday to describe the incident as "unfortunate" and said eight casualties have been reported till now as per the district administration.
"ADG LO, ACS Agriculture, IG Range & Commissioner are on the spot & situation is under control. Adequate deployment has been done to prevent any untoward incident," it added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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