Fardhan (Lakhimpur Kheri), Uttar Pradesh
There are tears of anger, shock and pain in the eyes of 68-year-old Nisha Devi, whose son Hariom Mishra was killed in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
“On Friday [October 1], Hariom told me he would return from the dangal [wrestling event] at Banveer Pur and take his father to Lucknow to show him to a doctor,” Nisha Devi told Gaon Connection.
But, Hariom never returned home. He was killed at Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 where seven more people, including four farmers, two BJP members and a journalist, were killed. His family members allege Hariom was lynched at the clash site.
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Hariom Mishra was the 26-year-old driver of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra ‘Teni’ who has been in the glare of the public eye ever since the violent clashes in Lakhimpur Kheri.
As per the First Information Report (FIR) filed on October 4, the Union minister’s son, Ashish Mishra (Monu bhaiya), was in the SUV, which mowed down people. He was sitting on the left side and firing, the report said. Hariom has been the minister’s driver for the past six years.
Meanwhile, a new viral video, reportedly from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, shows an SUV running over a group of protesting farmers who were walking on the road holding flags.
Also Read: New viral video shows SUV running over people in Lakhimpur Kheri
Sole breadwinner of the family
Hariom’s family back home at Fardhan village, about 100 kms away from the site of the clash, came to know of his death when friends told them they had seen it on social media.
“Hariom was the only earning member of his family. He lived with his ailing parents, an unmarried sister Maheswari, and younger brother Sriram,” Shiv Govind, a cousin of Hariom, told Gaon Connection. Shiv Govind, who is in the army and posted in Jammu and Kashmir, had rushed home on hearing of Hariom’s death.
Pointing to the deceased driver’s father, 71-year-old Radheyshyam Mishra, who was lying on the charpoy in the cluttered, dingy courtyard of the house with unplastered walls, Govind said he was bed ridden for several years now and was also struggling with mental health problems.
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According to family members, the father’s treatment was costing them nearly Rs 16,000 a month. Hariom was bearing the entire cost, his mother Nisha Devi said.
Hariom had spent a lot of money for his sister’s wedding that took place just a couple of months earlier, his mother said.
“He had taken a loan of three lakh rupees on his kisan credit card, and two lakh more from others,” she told Gaon Connection.
Hariom’s father owned three acres of land.
The family is now without its breadwinner. And, they are worried about the younger sister who has to be married too.
Rs 45 lakh compensation
On October 4, Sriram, the younger brother of Hariom, went to Kotwali Tikunia, Lakhimpur Kheri, to give his statement. According to the statement, Hariom was going to receive the chief guest Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister, to take him to Banveer Pur where the dangal was organised.
Hariom was in a vehicle along with Shubham Mishra and Shyam Sundar, two BJP party workers.
Sriram in his statement declared, “When my brother reached the Tikunia crossroads, Tejinder Singh Virk, Samajwadi Party district president (Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand), Amandeep Singh Sandhu and Mahendra Singh along with a group of others pulled them out of the vehicle and attacked them with rods and other weapons. I learnt of this from Lavkush and Ashish Pandya who were admitted in the hospital.” (Lavkush and Ashish Pandya claimed they were eyewitnesses to the lynching.)
Also Read: When Lakhimpur Kheri’s annual dangal turned deadly; eight people killed
Read the story in Hindi.
