Over the previous 24 hours, cellphone camera footage from Lakhimpur Kheri has emerged, showing SUVs ramming into a gathering of farmers from behind and driving on, as well as passengers of the automobile fleeing the vehicle even as a person seems to be stuck beneath the wheels. According to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the 29-second video purporting to show the real moment of impact was filmed by eyewitnesses and manipulated to slow it down for clarity.
“The film was discovered by one of the farmers’ movement’s social media followers. It was slowed down to illustrate what actually transpired, and it was shot from behind unnoticed, calmly walking protestors. “There was no other editing done,” claimed Kavitha Kuruganti, an SKM representative representing the Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch who has been in charge of the platform’s media updates.
Rakesh Tikait, a Bharatiya Kisan Union leader, had urged farmers and eyewitnesses to come forward with any evidence or videos showing the truth of what had happened, asking them to submit videos on social media after he brokered an agreement between district officials and the grieving community to send the bodies for post-mortem on Monday.
The 29-second video, which went viral on social media later that night, shows a Thar vehicle colliding with a group of men strolling down a rural road, some of whom are waving flags. The force of the crash throws one elderly guy with a white kurta and green turban into the windscreen of the car, while others collapse alongside the road. A second SUV drives by shortly after that.
Even though the SKM social media team sought to locate and validate eyewitness footage, they stated they were impeded by the area’s Internet service outage.
