‘Protect the Witness’: Supreme Court Directs UP Government Over Lakhimpur Incident
Statements of 30 witnesses have been recorded and 23 persons claim to be eyewitnesses of the incident
Mumbai: Supreme Court on Tuesday while hearing on the Lakhimpur violence and has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to protect the witness in the incident.
The Apex Court also directed that the statements of witnesses be recorded expeditiously.
Supreme Court further said that the identification of culprits shouldn’t be a problem when there was a crowd of 4000-5000 local people.
“There was a crowd of 4000-5000 persons who are all local people and even post-incident most of have been agitating. This is what has been reported. Then, the identification of these people should not be a problem,” said the court.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, who is representing the Uttar Pradesh government told the court that out of 68 witnesses, statements of 30 witnesses have been recorded under and 23 persons claim to be eyewitnesses of the incident.
The top court reacted by asking in a rally of hundreds of farmers, how are there only 23 eyewitnesses?
He also said that people have seen the car and the people who were inside the car. On which the court responded by saying, “if the eye witness is more credible than a bystander then it is best to have first-hand information.”
Harish Salve further told the Supreme Court that the UP government can give in a sealed cover which are the statements recorded of the witnesses in the case.
The next hearing on the matter is to on November 8.
Eight people were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 as violence erupted during the farmers’ protest.
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