Nighasan (Lakhimpur Kheri), Uttar Pradesh
The space outside journalist Raman Kashyap’s home in Nighasan, about 25 kms from the violent clash site in Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people were killed recently, has some plastic chairs, and people come and go. Some to pay their condolences and a few others from the media, waiting to talk to a family member.
“Some of the media people are putting words in our mouth and wanting us to say what they think happened,” Pawan Kashyap, Raman’s 32-year-old younger brother, told Gaon Connection.
A visibly annoyed Pawan was referring to rumours that the journalist, who worked with a local news channel, was lynched by angry farmers and beaten to death in Lakhimpur Kheri where seven others were killed on October 3.
Also Read: The phone call to journalist Raman Kashyap’s father that brought his world crashing down
Not too far from his Pawan chacha (father’s younger brother), Raman’s two-year-old son Vaibhav sat perched on a chair, not quite comprehending what all the activity was around him.
“I saw my brother’s body and there is no sign that he was lynched or beaten to death,” Pawan said. “It could have been an unfortunate accident that killed my brother. There were some injuries on his body that indicated that he had been dragged a distance and there were vestiges of coal tar from the road on him,” he said, reiterating there was nothing to suggest Raman had been beaten or lynched. He was probably run over, the deceased journalist’s brother said.
Thirty-five-year-old Raman Kashyap was one of the eight people who died at the Lakhimpur clashes. While initially, his death went relatively unnoticed, gradually the media focus shifted to the young reporter, one of their clan, who had gone to cover the event at Tikunia, to be attended by the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Raman was killed in the clashes that erupted there between farmers and supporters of political parties. There were allegations that a convoy of vehicles belonging to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra, had run over and killed bystanders, Raman being one of them. There were also allegations that Ajay Kumar’s son Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles that killed them.
However, the Union minister and his son have denied these allegations. An FIR has already been launched against Ashish Mishra on October 4.
“My son wasn’t present at the spot. There were miscreants who attacked workers with sticks and swords. If my son would’ve been there, he wouldn’t have come out alive. We have video evidence,” the minister said.
“We’ve had enough”
The family members of Raman Kashyap say they have had enough.
Ever since Raman died, there has been non- stop media focus on them which they are accustomed to and weary of.
“Repeating the same details again and again is painful to us,” Pawan said. So, the family has jotted down some of the more important details on a piece of paper so that the media people can pass it amongst themselves to note the points down.
Raman’s family has made it clear that he was not a part of the farmer’s agitation. “He went there as a reporter and he should get compensation due to a journalist,” the younger brother said.
Also Read: Farmers’ protest: The battlefield shifts to Lakhimpur Kheri
The family has asked the authorities to provide a job for Raman’s widow, 32-year-old Anuradha Raman, and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million). It was only after the assurance from the state government that their demands would be met that the family performed Raman’s last rites on October 4 evening.
Following the deaths in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to give a government job and Rs 4.5 million to the families of every person who died. Kashyap’s family has also been promised the ex gratia sum and a government job for his wife.
Unclaimed body turned out to be that of Raman Kashyap
Describing the nightmarish turn of events for Gaon Connection, Raman’s father Ram Dulare Kashyap said, “He left home around noon [of October 3] to cover the deputy chief minister’s event at Tikunia.”
When the family came to know about the violence that had broken out there, it tried to get in touch with Raman, but they could not. “Some of his journalist friends went looking for him, but couldn’t find him either,” Ram Dulare said.
“It was a full twelve to thirteen hours later that we were told about an unclaimed body at the district hospital and I went there to find the unclaimed body was my son’s,” the grief-stricken father said.
“We want action against the vehicle owner whose car ran over my brother. But please do not club my brother with the farmers. He was a social worker and a journalist who had gone to cover the event,” Pawan said.
Raman also worked as a teacher at a school close to his home where he earned about Rs 7,000 a month, the brother added. Their father, Ram Dulare Kashyap, owns about twenty bighas (over three hectares) of land and is a farmer.
The family of Raman is particularly upset at how his body was sent in a hearse. “There was no ambulance. No one even checked to see if my brother was alive. It was irresponsible and insensitive on the part of the Tikunia kotwal to treat my brother like this,” said Pawan.
However, the police has declined these allegations.
Crushed dreams
Friends and relatives of the young journalist are still in shock. “He was to accompany me to Lucknow on October 7, to get me admission in college, but who will take me now,” asked Durgesh Kashyap, Raman’s 17-year-old cousin.
Raman’s friends from school and from the news channel he worked for are as distraught.
“A journalist holds a mirror to society. Very often reporters do dangerous work. They should be provided security and if anything untoward happens to them in the line of duty, there has to be a provision whereby the family they leave behind are well looked after,” Umesh Pandey, a long time friend of Raman’s, told Gaon Connection.
Raman was a good son, husband, father and friend, said many of the mourners at his home. He helped many people and cared about doing things for the betterment of society, they said.
Also Read: No rest yet for 18-year-old Gurvinder Singh who was killed in Lakhimpur Kheri
But now, that dream is dead, and the future of his wife Aradhana, 11-year-old daughter Vaishnavi, two-year-old son Vaibhav, his two brothers and parents, looks bleak. Gaon Connection spoke with Om Prakash, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Nighasan, who confirmed eight people had died in Lakhimpur Kheri violence, including Raman Kashyap. He however refused to comment on when the family would receive the compensation.
