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Lakhimpur Kheri again: 2 bikers killed in collision with SUV of BJP MLA's wife

April 18, 2022 21:12 IST

Two men were killed when a "speeding" car linked to a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator hit their motorcycle in a head-on collision in Lakhimpur Kheri, the police said on Monday.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Naeem Ansari/ANI Photo

The Scorpio SUV involved in the collision on the Pilibhit-Basti highway near Pangi Khurd village on Sunday night had "vidhayak" (legislator) written on it, the police said.

The police said the car belonged to a family member of two-time Lakhimpur BJP MLA Yogesh Verma, who was not travelling in the vehicle.

 

Car driver Munendra, who had fled after the accident but later arrested, was produced in a court in Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday, which granted him bail, sources said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the "BJP's double-engine powered vehicle" continues to crush people, in a possible reference to the mowing down of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri by a car allegedly carrying BJP workers.

On Monday, the Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted by the Allahabad high court to Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish, who was arrested after the death of four protesting farmers and a journalist on October 3.

The police identified the victims in Sunday's accident as Ravi (22) and his relative Sumit (25), both residents of Kiratpur village.

They were returning home from neighbouring Ramapur village when the accident took place near a petrol pump on Sunday night.

Additional Superintendent of Police Arun Kumar Singh said, "Two men were killed in the collision between their bike and a Scorpio, reportedly owned by the MLA's family member.”

Sources said the vehicle is registered in the name of the MLA's wife. The MLA had given details of the car in his election affidavit.

"An FIR in this connection has been lodged with Kotwali police station while the errant driver has been arrested," the ASP added.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav raised questions over the law and order situation in the state.

"Two brothers" died after being crushed by a car belonging to a BJP MLA in Lakhimpur Kheri, he alleged.

"The BJP is continuing with impunity the process of mowing down people with its double-engine powered vehicle," Yadav said in a party statement in Hindi.

It also referred to recent cases of crime in the state, claiming that law and order was in a poor state in Uttar Pradesh.

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