BKU leader Dilbag Singh, a witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, was allegedly shot at by two unidentified assailants here, police said on Wednesday. Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Suman said experts from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) examined the crime spot and will submit a report regarding the incident. Dilbagh Singh, however, did not sustain any injuries in the attack that took place on Tuesday night.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) district president claimed he was returning home via the Aliganj-Muda road in the Gola Kotwali area in his SUV when the bike-borne assailants opened fire at him. Singh is one of the witnesses in the Lakhimpur violence case, in which eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, died.
Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was arrested in connection with the incident. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the state government over the attack on Dilbag Singh and asked if this was the state government’s zero tolerance towards crime and criminals.
Talking to PTI over the phone, the BKU leader said the shooters punctured a tyre of his SUV owing to which he had to stop the vehicle. “They attempted to open the gates and windows of the SUV. When failed, they fired two shots at the windowpane of the driver’s side,” he said.
Singh said he was driving the SUV and was alone. He said sensing the intentions of the attackers, he folded the driver’s seat and bent down towards the floor. As the vehicle windows were covered with dark film, the attackers could not decide the BKU leader’s status in the SUV and fled away on their bikes.
Singh said he had sent his official gunman (provided to him by the district administration) on leave owing to his son’s sudden sickness on the day.
He lodged a complaint with Gola kotwali police soon after the attack. He added that he had also informed BKU-Tikait spokesperson Rakesh Tikait about the incident.
Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh told PTI that on the complaint of Dilbag Singh, an FIR under appropriate sections of IPC had been lodged.
He said forensic teams had been sent to the spot to examine the vehicle and the crime scene and collect evidence. He further said police were investigating the case and efforts were on to identify the attackers.
The ASP added that the BKU-Tikait district president sent his gunman on leave on his own without intimating the senior police authorities.
“If the matter of leave to his gunman had been intimated to us, we would have provided him another gunman as an alternative arrangement,” he said.
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