Just hours after the video of farmers being mowed down by an SUV on Sunday, 3 October, in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri went viral on Tuesday, sources told The Quint that the autopsy report does not mention injuries due to bullet wounds on any of the deceased farmers.
A senior doctor who is a part of the post-mortem panel at the Lakhimpur district hospital told The Quint that the causes of death in the autopsy reports include multiple fractures after being run over by a heavy object (like a vehicle) and injuries suffered due to assault.
While the autopsy report has not been made public by the authorities yet, the families of the deceased said that they will keep protesting until the reports were out.
The family of deceased farmer, Gurvinder Singh, has said that the post-mortem has been falsified. The family, speaking to The Quint, has alleged that while there are evident bullet wounds on Singh's body, the post-mortem report lacks any mention of these.
The kin of the Bahraich farmer has demanded that another post-mortem be conducted to ascertain the cause of Singh's death.
Farmers Recount Horror
Speaking to The Quint, Taranjit Singh, a farmer in Tikunia town, said that three vehicles came at a speed of 80-90 km and mowed down the men.
Another farmer Parminder Singh said, "The government is talking about a compensation of Rs 45 lakh, government jobs, but the question is why the BJP is getting its ministers to commit such atrocities on farmers. Why has the minister not already been suspended? The government has not taken any action nor has arrested the accused."
The farmers have sought a fair investigation and are demanding immediate action from the government against the accused.
Meanwhile, SN Sabat, the Additional Director General of Police for the Lucknow Zone, when questioned by NDTV over the lack of action taken so far, said, "We were first busy with negotiations with farmers and then with postmortems and then with getting the cremations done. We follow a due process in every case and we will investigate this case thoroughly."
Priyanka Gandhi Ups the Ante
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is currently in custody showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a video, allegedly of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
"This video shows the son of a minister of your government trampling farmers under his car. Watch this video and answer the country as to why the minister has not been suspended, why his son has not been arrested?" she said.
She further asked why the son of a minister in his government, who allegedly crushed the protesting farmers on Sunday, 3 October, had not been arrested.
"Sir, your government has kept me in custody for the last 28 hours without any order and FIR. Yet, this person who crushed our food donors has not yet been arrested. Why?" she said in another tweet.
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