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LUCKNOW, India – (AP) – Indian authorities suspended internet services and barred political leaders from entering a northern town on Monday to calm tensions after eight people were killed in a deadly escalation of a year-long protest against controversial agricultural laws.
Four farmers died on Sunday when a car belonging to Deputy Home Secretary Ajay Mishra ran over protesting farmers in the town of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, officials and farm managers said .
Mishra said his driver and three members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party who were in the car were all killed by protesters in the violence that erupted after the incident.
“They were beaten to death by the farmers,” Mishra said in a statement.
Farm leaders alleged that Mishra’s son was in the car when she ran over the protesters, but Mishra denied.
Police on Monday filed a criminal complaint against 14 people, including the minister’s son, in connection with the deaths of the four farmers. The BJP also filed a criminal complaint against the farmers protesting over the deaths of its members and the driver of the car, said Arvind Chaurasia, a senior district official.
Farm managers are calling for a judicial investigation and compensation for the families of deceased farmers. They also want action against the minister and his son, saying Mishra should be removed from office.
The violence has marked an escalation in ongoing protests against farm laws that farmers say will shatter their livelihoods. The protests have been going on since the government passed the laws last September and have been one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest challenges.
Last week, thousands of farmers gathered on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi to mark a year of protests. The government says changes in laws were necessary to modernize agriculture and boost production through private investment. But farmers say the laws will devastate their incomes by ending guaranteed prices and force them to sell their crops to companies at lower prices.
Police officer Arun Kumar Singh told The Associated Press that all schools in the district have been closed and people have been urged to stay indoors following the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, 200 kilometers away ( 124 miles) southeast of the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow.
Authorities also banned leaders of various opposition parties from entering the district to meet with farmers, fearing it could cause further unrest. Rakesh Tikait, a senior agricultural official, said the bodies will not be cremated until the government accepts their demands.
Ongoing farmer protests against the laws have been largely peaceful, though clashes in January left one dead and hundreds injured after protesters broke through police barricades to storm a historic fort in Delhi.
Thousands of farmers have been camping for nearly a year on the outskirts of New Delhi, and more than a dozen rounds of government-farmer talks have failed to resolve the issues.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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