Killed farmers had assured kin that ‘protest will be peaceful’
LUCKNOW : Over 300 farmers who forced themselves on the helipad where deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s helicopter was to land in Tikunia of Lakhimpur Kheri, were elated after the latter’s visit to the area was cancelled on Sunday evening. The happiness, however, was short lived as three SUVs including one carrying the son of local BJP MP rammed into the farmers, killing four of them.
Daljeet Singh, 35, was among those hit by the vehicle. A farmer of Nanpara area of the district, Daljeet reached Tikunia to participate in the protest which he was sure would be peaceful. “He told me that the protest would be peaceful and he would return by sunset. That was the last time I saw him alive. I wanted to stop him but I couldn’t,” said his widow, Paramjeet Kaur, as she sat beside the body with her 17-year-old daughter on Monday, metres away from the spot where the incident happened.
Gurvinder Singh and Lovepreet Singh, both 18, and of the same district, were also killed in the incident. Lovepreet, the youngest brother among three siblings, had promised his mother that he would bring notebooks for his elder sister while returning from the protest. “My son was standing by the side of the road when he was hit. His mother has fainted several times after hearing about the death,” Lovepreet’s father, Satnam Singh, said.
His father, Maskin Singh, said, “Gurvinder came here to help distribute food and water to protesting farmers. He was only 18 and had nothing to do with politics.” Nachhatar Singh, 52, was the fourth farmer killed in the incident. His youngest son, Mandeep, who joined Sashstra Seema Bal, a few years ago, broke down beside the body of his father as his elder brother stood beside him teary-eyed.
“My father motivated me to serve the nation by joining the forces. He was a proud farmer who only stood for his rights,” said Mandeep..