A former MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Nirvendra Kumar Mishra, was beaten to death in the state's Lakhimpur Kheri district over a land dispute. The incident took place on Sunday, 6 September. Mishra was a three-time MLA from the Nighasan seat in the district, winning twice as an independent and for the third time, on a Samajwadi Party ticket.
According to India Today, a ruckus broke out at a bus stand in the area over the land dispute on Sunday. The miscreants allegedly came with rods and lathis and thrashed the former MLA as well as his son.
Mishra succumbed to his injuries on his way to the hospital.
"There was a minor skirmish over a land dispute and situation escalated, during which he got injured and was taken to hospital where he was declared brought dead," a Superintendent of Police (SP), told the channel.
The police told The Hindu that prima facie the cause of Mishra's death seems to be a cardiac arrest and that he had no signs of injury on his body.
The family, however, is alleging murder and has raised questions on the role of the police.
“They hit my father and they hit me. They beat him to death... My father was murdered,” said Mishra's son, Sanjeev Mishra, while speaking to local reporters.
He also accused the police of protecting those who had attacked his father.
(With inputs from India Today and The Hindu)
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