They were marking the fifth anniversary of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that occurred during the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws. A traffic chaos was reported on the roads near Sector 35 on Saturday evening due to a protest held by the farmers’ association under Sarwan Singh Pandher.
They wanted to hold a candlelight protest and march to Matka Chowk. However, the police did not give them permission. After being stopped, the protesters returned and started marching on the roads via another route, resulting in a traffic jam and causing inconvenience to commuters. The situation was attributed to the police arrangements, as no alternative route had been closed or properly managed. The protesters remained mostly peaceful and left on their own accord around 8pm. Police did not use any crowd control measures, and the protesters did not submit any memorandum. No protesters were detained. In this incident, four farmers sitting on protest were crushed by a vehicle that farmers alleged belonged to the then UP home minister Ajay Mishra Teni. However, Teni denied those allegations.
The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had gathered at the Kisan Bhawan in Sector 35 to pay tribute to the deceased farmers. The Lakhimpur Kheri incident happened on October 3, 2021. As a result, the farmers moved towards the other side of the road, leading to further traffic congestion around Sectors 35, 22, 34, 21 and 36.
A police official present on the spot said that the protest started around 6pm.
