The Evening Wrap: Lakhimpur Kheri farmers killing a planned conspiracy, says investigation officer

The Special Investigation Team probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence of October 3 has described the killing of four farmers and a journalist as a “pre-planned conspiracy”. In an application submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Kheri district on Monday, the investigation officer has asked for dropping the charges of death due to negligence and rash driving, and adding attempt to murder and voluntarily causing grievous hurt with common intention charges to the warrant of the accused. Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, is the main accused in the case as it was his SUV that allegedly crushed the farmers. He, along with 12 others, has been booked under section 302 (murder) and several other sections of the IPC and is at present lodged in the Lakhimpur district jail. On Tuesday, Mishra visited the jail to meet his beleaguered son. The development has put the position of Union Minister of State for Home under the shadow, with the opposition upping their demand for his immediate dismissal. In a tweet, Congress General Secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described the continuance of Mishra in the cabinet as an example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “anti-farmer mindset.” She demanded that an inquiry committee should be set up to look into his role in the conspiracy and asked for his immediate dismissal. Farmer unions have already been demanding the sacking of Mishra from the union cabinet, posing problems for the ruling party in the poll-bound state. In the letter, Vidyaram Diwakar, the chief investigation officer of the SIT, said, as per the investigation and evidence collected so far, the criminal act was not committed because of “negligence”, and “callousness”, rather it was “deliberately carried out through a pre-planned conspiracy” to kill. It led to the death of five people and several others were seriously injured. “Hence sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt through weapons) and 34 (criminal act done by several persons with common intention) of IPC and sections of 3/25/30 of the Arms Act should be added to the warrant of the accused and sections 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt because of negligence) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC be dropped,” Diwakar said in the letter. The development has come after the Supreme Court directed the SIT to expedite the investigation and posed some tough questions to the UP government. Responding to the development, Bharatiya Kisan Union said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s stand has been vindicated and it has made the position of Mishra all the more untenable in the union cabinet. “The truth has come out. From day one we have been saying that the minister and his son are involved in the case. We again demand his immediate dismissal and arrest. The farmers’ struggle will continue till he is shown the door,” said Dharmendra Malik, media in-charge, BKU. Nagaland’s Mon district ‘declared’ out of bounds for military The dominant Konyak Naga community has virtually made Nagaland’s Mon district out of bounds for the ‘Indian military’ until justice is delivered to the 14 civilians killed by security forces on December 4 and 5. The Konyak Union, the apex body of the Konyaks, issued a statement on December 13, declaring “total restriction on the convoy of Indian military force and patrolling” across the Konyak territory. “In accordance with the declaration made on December 7, the Konyaks shall not withdraw their non-cooperation with the Indian military forces until their charter of demands is fulfilled,” the organisations said. The demands include punishment for the soldiers involved in the botched ambush leading to the deaths, and putting the judgment against them in the public domain. The union also disallowed military recruitment rallies in Mon district and asked the Konyak youth not to participate in such rallies. The union directed landowners to immediately denounce the past land agreements signed for the setting up of military camps within Konyak areas. It further sought severance of all forms of public relations with the Indian Army. “No Konyak village council, student or any society must accept any forms of developmental packages/sops from the military. Any forms of assured packages/sops from the military forces, if any, must be denounced,” the statement said. The Konyak Union also asked the State government to take complete responsibility of the two survivors of the December 4 incident undergoing treatment in Assam. The union directed the Oting village council to denounce the “commendable certificate” awarded to the village by the central government in 1958 for assisting it in maintaining peace in the region. The December 4 incident happened near Oting. The Oting villagers had refused to accept ₹18.30 lakh paid as part of the total compensation for the families of the 14 victims. The compensation would be accepted only after the soldiers guilty of killing the villagers are punished, they said. India votes against U.N. draft resolution on climate change India on Monday voted against a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) linking climate to security, saying it was an attempt to shift climate talks from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the Security Council and a “step backward” for collective action on the issue. The resolution was sponsored by Ireland and Niger, and it did not pass, with 12 UNSC members voting for it, India and Russia voting against it, and China abstaining. Niger, which holds the UNSC presidency for December, organised a debate on December 9 titled ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: Security in the context of terrorism and climate change.’ One of the objectives of the debate was to examine how terrorism and security risks could be linked to climate change, as per a concept note circulated by Niger. “What is it that we can collectively do under this draft resolution that we cannot achieve under the UNFCCC process?” India’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the U.N. T.S. Tirumurti said, positing that the reason countries were attempting to bring climate talks to the Security Council was that decisions could be taken without consensus or the involvement of most developing countries. A video of Tirumurti explaining India’s vote was posted by official Indian handles on Twitter. “If the Security Council indeed takes over the responsibility on this issue, a few states will then have a free hand in deciding on all climate-related issues. This is clearly neither desirable nor acceptable,” he said. The draft resolution, as per the ambassador, would undermine progress made at Glasgow, where the latest round of talks under the UNFCCC, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), concluded in November. Developing and ‘least developed’ countries had worked, over the last two decades, to make “common but differentiated” responsibilities a fundamental tenet of climate action, Tirumurti noted. “Today’s attempt to link climate with security really seeks to obfuscate lack of progress on critical issues under the UNFCCC process,” Tirumurti said, adding that many of the UNSC members were the primary contributors to climate change due to historical emissions. SC gives the nod to widening of 3 highways to Indo-China border The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the government’s mandate to broaden three Himalayan highways, considered crucial by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), for quick troop build-up along the Indo-China border. The three national highways -- Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh -- act as feeder roads to the northern border with China. They are part of the Char Dham project. These highways would now be developed in accordance with the Double Lane with Paved Shoulder (DLPS) system. “This court in judicial review cannot second-guess the infrastructural needs of the armed forces,” a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said in a judgment. The verdict is based on an application filed by the MoD to modify the court’s September 8, 2020 order, which directed that mountain roads for the Char Dham Highway project should be 5.5 m in width in compliance with a 2018 circular of the Roads and Highways Ministry. The Ministry had gone on to amend its circular in December last, saying that “for roads in hilly and mountainous terrain which act as feeder roads to the Indo-China border and are of strategic importance for national security, the carriageway width should be 7 m with 1.5 m paved shoulder on either side”. Environmentalists had argued in court that broadening the highways using DLPS would prove fatal to the already fragile Himalayan ecology. The petitioner, an NGO called Citizens of Green Doon, had called the Himalayas the “best defence for our country”. It had challenged the Road Ministry’s December 2020 circular, saying the government introduced DLPS without application of mind. But the court concluded that the Roads Ministry’s circular was based on recommendations from the MoD. The court said it cannot “interrogate” the defence requirements of the nation. The MoD was the “specialised body” which discerned the requirements of the armed forces. Security concerns, which changed over time, were assessed by it. When the conservationists contended that smaller, disaster-proof roads served the needs of the armed forces, Justice Chandrachud responded in the judgment that “The submission of the petitioners requires the court to override the modalities decided upon by the Army and the Ministry of Defence to safeguard the security of the nation’s borders… The petitioners want the court to interrogate the policy choice of the establishment which was entrusted by law for the defence of the nation. This is impermissible.” To an argument that the Army Chief, in a media interview in 2019, commented on the adequacy of infrastructure requirements for troop movement, the court reminded that “the recent past has thrown up serious challenges to the national security”. “The armed forces cannot be held down to a statement made during a media interaction in 2019 as if it was a decree written in stone,” Justice Chandrachud observed. The court said different considerations come into play while constructing highways in mountainous terrains, which were strategic roads from a defence perspective. Opposition marches to Vijay Chowk protesting MPs’ suspension The Opposition parties staged a km-long march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk to flag what they called the “illegal” suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members who have been staging a sit-in at the Gandhi statue in Parliament for the last 14 days. All Opposition parties -- the Congress, Shiv Sena, DMK, RJD, IUML, CPI(M) and the CPI --participated in the march. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) joined it with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. But within the House, they drifted away. The 12 MPs led the march. At a meeting in the morning, the Opposition decided against participating in the House. The TMC has been skipping all the meetings because it does not want to be seen as a part of Congress-led Opposition. Going against the Opposition consensus, it’s Chief Whip Sukendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haq spoke during the Zero Hour, where the members get an opportunity to raise issues of national importance. Further exposing the faultlines, TMC House leader Derek O’ Brien, tweeted: “Amused. Some political parties have the ability to come up with genuine IDEAS for protest inside and outside #Parliament. Some political parties then try so hard to own (and appropriate) those ideas. Truly amusing.” The Zero Hour was conducted amidst vociferous protests by the Opposition. House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu pleaded in vain for the Opposition to maintain order. He said members of both sides have to follow the rules. The House was adjourned at 12.00 noon till 2.00 p.m. At 12:30 p.m., at the Gandhi statue in Parliament, all Opposition leaders from both the Houses congregated, including Gandhi. Carrying placards proclaiming that they too should be suspended if the suspension of the 12 can’t be revoked, the leaders marched to Vijay Chowk. TMC MPs Sugata Roy, Mausam Noor, Shantanu Sen and suspended MP Dola Sen among others participated in the march. Speaking to the media at Vijay Chowk, Gandhi, pointing at the suspended MPs, said, “They are the symbol of the democracy of this country. They are the symbol of the crushing of the voice of the people of India. They have been suspended now for two weeks. They are sitting outside. Their voices have been crushed. They have done nothing wrong.” He also complained that the Opposition was not allowed to discuss important issues in Parliament. “Bill after bill, bill after bill is just passed in the din. This is not the way to run Parliament. The Prime Minister doesn’t come to the House, and any time we want to raise an issue of national importance, we are just not allowed to do so. Democracy is being killed,” he said. The government refuses to relent in face of the protests. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “I call upon the Congress members, the other Opposition members to express regret and come to the House.” Though the Opposition parties managed to take their protest outside the parliamentary premises, within the House, their limited numbers are affecting the protest. In the post-lunch session, there were only around 31 Opposition MPs, with each Opposition party missing many of its members. Together, they could not raise enough voice to stall the session and staged a walkout. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,16,92,540 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,75,930. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 14 DECEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Lakhimpur case: Investigation Officer says farmers’ killing a ‘planned conspiracy’ The Special Investigation Team probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence of October 3 has [described the killing of four farmers and a journalist as a “pre-planned conspiracy”](. In an application submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Kheri district on Monday, the investigation officer has asked for dropping the charges of death due to negligence and rash driving, and adding attempt to murder and voluntarily causing grievous hurt with common intention charges to the warrant of the accused. Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, is the main accused in the case as it was his SUV that allegedly crushed the farmers. He, along with 12 others, has been booked under section 302 (murder) and several other sections of the IPC and is at present lodged in the Lakhimpur district jail. On Tuesday, Mishra visited the jail to meet his beleaguered son. [Special Investigation Team (SIT) attempt to recreate the sequence of events leading to the incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Tikonia village as part of their investigation, in Lakhimpur. File]  The development has put the position of Union Minister of State for Home under the shadow, with the opposition upping their demand for his immediate dismissal. In a tweet, Congress General Secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described the continuance of Mishra in the cabinet as an example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “anti-farmer mindset.” She demanded that an inquiry committee should be set up to look into his role in the conspiracy and asked for his immediate dismissal. Farmer unions have already been demanding the sacking of Mishra from the union cabinet, posing problems for the ruling party in the poll-bound state. In the letter, Vidyaram Diwakar, the chief investigation officer of the SIT, said, as per the investigation and evidence collected so far, the criminal act was not committed because of “negligence”, and “callousness”, rather it was “deliberately carried out through a pre-planned conspiracy” to kill. It led to the death of five people and several others were seriously injured. “Hence sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt through weapons) and 34 (criminal act done by several persons with common intention) of IPC and sections of 3/25/30 of the Arms Act should be added to the warrant of the accused and sections 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt because of negligence) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC be dropped,” Diwakar said in the letter. The development has come after the Supreme Court directed the SIT to expedite the investigation and posed some tough questions to the UP government. Responding to the development, Bharatiya Kisan Union said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s stand has been vindicated and it has made the position of Mishra all the more untenable in the union cabinet. “The truth has come out. From day one we have been saying that the minister and his son are involved in the case. We again demand his immediate dismissal and arrest. The farmers’ struggle will continue till he is shown the door,” said Dharmendra Malik, media in-charge, BKU. [underlineimg] Nagaland’s Mon district ‘declared’ out of bounds for military The dominant [Konyak Naga community has virtually made]( Nagaland’s Mon district out of bounds for the ‘Indian military’ until justice is delivered to the 14 civilians killed by security forces on December 4 and 5. The Konyak Union, the apex body of the Konyaks, issued a statement on December 13, declaring “total restriction on the convoy of Indian military force and patrolling” across the Konyak territory. “In accordance with the declaration made on December 7, the Konyaks shall not withdraw their non-cooperation with the Indian military forces until their charter of demands is fulfilled,” the organisations said. The demands include punishment for the soldiers involved in the botched ambush leading to the deaths, and putting the judgment against them in the public domain. [Villagers gather at the residence of Leiong Konyak, a resident of Chi Village in Mon district.]  The union also disallowed military recruitment rallies in Mon district and asked the Konyak youth not to participate in such rallies. The union directed landowners to immediately denounce the past land agreements signed for the setting up of military camps within Konyak areas. It further sought severance of all forms of public relations with the Indian Army. “No Konyak village council, student or any society must accept any forms of developmental packages/sops from the military. Any forms of assured packages/sops from the military forces, if any, must be denounced,” the statement said. The Konyak Union also asked the State government to take complete responsibility of the two survivors of the December 4 incident undergoing treatment in Assam. The union directed the Oting village council to denounce the “commendable certificate” awarded to the village by the central government in 1958 for assisting it in maintaining peace in the region. The December 4 incident happened near Oting. The Oting villagers had refused to accept ₹18.30 lakh paid as part of the total compensation for the families of the 14 victims. The compensation would be accepted only after the soldiers guilty of killing the villagers are punished, they said. [underlineimg] India votes against U.N. draft resolution on climate change India on Monday [voted against a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)]( linking climate to security, saying it was an attempt to shift climate talks from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the Security Council and a “step backward” for collective action on the issue. The resolution was sponsored by Ireland and Niger, and it did not pass, with 12 UNSC members voting for it, India and Russia voting against it, and China abstaining. Niger, which holds the UNSC presidency for December, organised a debate on December 9 titled ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: Security in the context of terrorism and climate change.’ One of the objectives of the debate was to examine how terrorism and security risks could be linked to climate change, as per a concept note circulated by Niger. “What is it that we can collectively do under this draft resolution that we cannot achieve under the UNFCCC process?” India’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the U.N. T.S. Tirumurti said, positing that the reason countries were attempting to bring climate talks to the Security Council was that decisions could be taken without consensus or the involvement of most developing countries. A video of Tirumurti explaining India’s vote was posted by official Indian handles on Twitter. “If the Security Council indeed takes over the responsibility on this issue, a few states will then have a free hand in deciding on all climate-related issues. This is clearly neither desirable nor acceptable,” he said. The draft resolution, as per the ambassador, would undermine progress made at Glasgow, where the latest round of talks under the UNFCCC, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), concluded in November. Developing and ‘least developed’ countries had worked, over the last two decades, to make “common but differentiated” responsibilities a fundamental tenet of climate action, Tirumurti noted. “Today’s attempt to link climate with security really seeks to obfuscate lack of progress on critical issues under the UNFCCC process,” Tirumurti said, adding that many of the UNSC members were the primary contributors to climate change due to historical emissions. [underlineimg] SC gives the nod to widening of 3 highways to Indo-China border The Supreme Court on Tuesday [upheld the government’s mandate to broaden three Himalayan highways]( considered crucial by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), for quick troop build-up along the Indo-China border. The three national highways -- Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh -- act as feeder roads to the northern border with China. They are part of the Char Dham project. These highways would now be developed in accordance with the Double Lane with Paved Shoulder (DLPS) system. “This court in judicial review cannot second-guess the infrastructural needs of the armed forces,” a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said in a judgment. The verdict is based on an application filed by the MoD to modify the court’s September 8, 2020 order, which directed that mountain roads for the Char Dham Highway project should be 5.5 m in width in compliance with a 2018 circular of the Roads and Highways Ministry. The Ministry had gone on to amend its circular in December last, saying that “for roads in hilly and mountainous terrain which act as feeder roads to the Indo-China border and are of strategic importance for national security, the carriageway width should be 7 m with 1.5 m paved shoulder on either side”. Environmentalists had argued in court that broadening the highways using DLPS would prove fatal to the already fragile Himalayan ecology. The petitioner, an NGO called Citizens of Green Doon, had called the Himalayas the “best defence for our country”. It had challenged the Road Ministry’s December 2020 circular, saying the government introduced DLPS without application of mind. But the court concluded that the Roads Ministry’s circular was based on recommendations from the MoD. The court said it cannot “interrogate” the defence requirements of the nation. The MoD was the “specialised body” which discerned the requirements of the armed forces. Security concerns, which changed over time, were assessed by it. When the conservationists contended that smaller, disaster-proof roads served the needs of the armed forces, Justice Chandrachud responded in the judgment that “The submission of the petitioners requires the court to override the modalities decided upon by the Army and the Ministry of Defence to safeguard the security of the nation’s borders… The petitioners want the court to interrogate the policy choice of the establishment which was entrusted by law for the defence of the nation. This is impermissible.” To an argument that the Army Chief, in a media interview in 2019, commented on the adequacy of infrastructure requirements for troop movement, the court reminded that “the recent past has thrown up serious challenges to the national security”. “The armed forces cannot be held down to a statement made during a media interaction in 2019 as if it was a decree written in stone,” Justice Chandrachud observed. The court said different considerations come into play while constructing highways in mountainous terrains, which were strategic roads from a defence perspective. [underlineimg] Opposition marches to Vijay Chowk protesting MPs’ suspension The [Opposition parties staged a km-long march]( from Parliament to Vijay Chowk to flag what they called the “illegal” suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members who have been staging a sit-in at the Gandhi statue in Parliament for the last 14 days. All Opposition parties -- the Congress, Shiv Sena, DMK, RJD, IUML, CPI(M) and the CPI --participated in the march. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) joined it with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. But within the House, they drifted away. The 12 MPs led the march. At a meeting in the morning, the Opposition decided against participating in the House. The TMC has been skipping all the meetings because it does not want to be seen as a part of Congress-led Opposition. Going against the Opposition consensus, it’s Chief Whip Sukendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haq spoke during the Zero Hour, where the members get an opportunity to raise issues of national importance. Further exposing the faultlines, TMC House leader Derek O’ Brien, tweeted: “Amused. Some political parties have the ability to come up with genuine IDEAS for protest inside and outside #Parliament. Some political parties then try so hard to own (and appropriate) those ideas. Truly amusing.” The Zero Hour was conducted amidst vociferous protests by the Opposition. House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu pleaded in vain for the Opposition to maintain order. He said members of both sides have to follow the rules. The House was adjourned at 12.00 noon till 2.00 p.m. At 12:30 p.m., at the Gandhi statue in Parliament, all Opposition leaders from both the Houses congregated, including Gandhi. Carrying placards proclaiming that they too should be suspended if the suspension of the 12 can’t be revoked, the leaders marched to Vijay Chowk. TMC MPs Sugata Roy, Mausam Noor, Shantanu Sen and suspended MP Dola Sen among others participated in the march. Speaking to the media at Vijay Chowk, Gandhi, pointing at the suspended MPs, said, “They are the symbol of the democracy of this country. They are the symbol of the crushing of the voice of the people of India. They have been suspended now for two weeks. They are sitting outside. Their voices have been crushed. They have done nothing wrong.” He also complained that the Opposition was not allowed to discuss important issues in Parliament. “Bill after bill, bill after bill is just passed in the din. This is not the way to run Parliament. The Prime Minister doesn’t come to the House, and any time we want to raise an issue of national importance, we are just not allowed to do so. Democracy is being killed,” he said. The government refuses to relent in face of the protests. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “I call upon the Congress members, the other Opposition members to express regret and come to the House.” Though the Opposition parties managed to take their protest outside the parliamentary premises, within the House, their limited numbers are affecting the protest. In the post-lunch session, there were only around 31 Opposition MPs, with each Opposition party missing many of its members. Together, they could not raise enough voice to stall the session and staged a walkout. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 3,16,92,540 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,75,930. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [[‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ trailer: Mads Mikkelsen set to raise hell as Grindelwald] ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ trailer: Mads Mikkelsen set to raise hell as Grindelwald]( [[Watch | What You Need To Know About The Personal Data Protection Bill] Watch | What You Need To Know About The Personal Data Protection Bill]( [[‘Aarya 2’ review: Sushmita Sen’s show all the way] ‘Aarya 2’ review: Sushmita Sen’s show all the way]( [[Time magazine's 2021 ] Time magazine's 2021 "Person of the Year" is Elon Musk]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](