Five years after Lakhimpur Kheri: farmers mark the anniversary while the trial still waits for a senior prosecutor
On the fifth anniversary of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri killings, farmer unions held candle marches demanding justice. On September 22 the Supreme Court asked Uttar Pradesh to respond to a plea for a more experienced public prosecutor and sought a sealed-cover report on the trial's handling.
Five years after eight people were killed at Lakhimpur Kheri, the farmers are still marching - and the trial is still waiting.
On Saturday, farmer unions under the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha observed the fifth anniversary of the October 3, 2021 violence in Tikunia, Lakhimpur Kheri, with a candle march to pay homage to the victims. 'We are here to pay tribute to those martyrs - among them were young boys, someone's only son,' a participant said. 'We will continue to demand justice.'
The case relates to the day an SUV allegedly ran over protesting farmers. Ashish Mishra, son of then Union Minister Ajay Mishra, is an accused in the case. In the clashes that followed, eight people were killed.
The demand for justice has now reached the Supreme Court's doorstep. On September 22, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a request for the appointment of a senior public prosecutor with greater experience to conduct the trial, and sought a sealed-cover report from the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice on the handling of the trial by the newly appointed judge.
The directions came after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the complainants, raised concerns over the conduct of the newly appointed trial judge and the public prosecutor - particularly in relation to key eyewitnesses in the case. The court directed its registry to forward the complainants' application and its order to the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice.
Farmers have been demanding legal accountability, justice for those who died, and the fulfilment of assurances previously made by the authorities regarding the case. Five years on, the assurances are the only thing that has not moved.
The anniversary candle march is a reminder of a pattern the powerful would prefer forgotten: the car that ran over farmers belonged to the orbit of a Union minister, and the trial that followed has been marked by delays, changes of judges and now questions over the prosecutor himself. Justice delayed is justice denied - but here, justice has not even been properly staffed.