Farmer leader staging sitin dies in Rae Bareli

He had been pressing for resolution of a land dispute among other demands

RAE BARELI: A farmer leader, who was staging a sit-in in front of the district magistrate’s office for the last five days to press for resolution of a land dispute among other demands, died on the collectorate premises here in ‘mysterious circumstances’ on Sunday night. The farmer leader Amrit Lal Savita, 55, was the district president of Kisan Kalyan Association.

RAE BARELI: A farmer leader, who was staging a sit-in in front of the district magistrate’s office for the last five days to press for resolution of a land dispute among other demands, died on the collectorate premises here in ‘mysterious circumstances’ on Sunday night.

The farmer leader Amrit Lal Savita, 55, was the district president of the Kisan Kalyan Association.

District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri gave financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of Amrit Lal .

He said Amrit Lal was staging a sit-in with a few others when he died on Sunday night, adding it was an ‘unnatural’ death.

The district magistrate said Amrit Lal Savita was resident of Banapar village in Dalmau tehsil of Rae Bareli district.

He also said Amrit Lal had been in touch with him since June 6 .

Amrit Lal’s main complaint was that one Ram Lakahan Tiwari had blocked the way to his land, he said.

The Dalmau subdivisional magistrate (SDM) and the city magistrate had been looking into his grievances, the DM said.

Chief medical officer Dr DK Singh was not available for his comment on Amrit Lal’s postmortem report.

A delegation of the Kisan Kalyan Association and family members of the farmer leader reached a written agreement with the district administra- tion, people familiar with the matter said.

The family will receive Rs 10 lakh and a house under the Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojana, they said.

Amrit Lal is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son

Former Central Bar Association president and Rae Bareli-based senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader OP Yadav has sent a fax message to the chief minister on the issue. In the message, he has said, “The district administration is responsible for the death of Amrit Lal. Guilty should be punished after an inquiry into administrative negligence.”

› The district administration is responsible for the death of Amrit Lal. Guilty should be punished after an inquiry into administrative negligence

OP YADAV , Rae Bareli-based senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader