Hours ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lucknow visit, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted a viral video of an SUV running over farmers at a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri district of the state. The Congress general secretary followed it up with a pointed question for the Prime Minister.
"@narendramodi Sir, your government has kept me in custody for the last 28 hours without any order and FIR. This person who crushed the annadata (farmers) has not been arrested yet. Why?" Priyanka Gandhi asked this morning, tweeting a viral video clip which appears to show farmers being run over by an SUV.
The Prime Minister is yet to speak on the violence in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress leader, who said she had been "illegally held" indefinitely by the Uttar Pradesh government for over 24 hours, followed her earlier tweet with a video message for the Prime Minister. This time holding up a mobile phone and playing the video in full, asking why the Union minister has not been removed as yet.
Yesterday, leaders cutting across party lines were stopped from visiting the area, with the police even writing to the Lucknow airport to not allow the flights carrying Congress leaders to land.
The video, being shared widely on social media, is yet to be verified by the police. NDTV cannot independently verify its authenticity.
In the 25-second video clip, one can see farmers falling to the ground as the vehicle rams them, while others scramble to get out of the way. Another vehicle, with sirens blaring, is seen tailing the SUV that rammed the farmers. Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in the violence on Sunday.
The video matches descriptions given to NDTV by farmers at the spot who said the vehicle suddenly hit them from behind. The make and colour of the lead SUV that rams the farmers in the video also matches other visuals from the site.
On Sunday, a group of protesting farmers in Tikonia area of Kheri tried to block Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya from visiting. The protesters were upset over a recent speech by Mr Mishra.
The farmers claimed the violence broke out after a car in the minister's convoy ran over protesters. Visuals from the area showed arson and vehicles set on fire. They have alleged that the car was driven by the Union Minister's son Ashish.
It is not clear from the viral video clip who is in the driving seat.
A murder case has been filed against the Minister's son but he is yet to be arrested. Both the Minister and his son have denied even being at the spot.
The Uttar Pradesh government has promised to pay a compensation of Rs 45 lakh to the families of those who died. The injured will receive a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. A retired judge will investigate the matter, the state government has said.
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