Farmers protest

The incident began in the wee hours of Friday on the Singhu border dividing Haryana and Delhi when Lakhbir Singh (30), a resident of Tarn Taran district in Punjab, was seen carrying the Sarbloh Granth -- a Sikh religious scripture -- by a Nihang Sikh man.

A police spokesperson said that on Friday, the police in Kundli got information that Nihangs had tied a person to a barricade with his hand chopped off near the protest site. It is being alleged that the man was caught while desecrating the Sikh religious holy book. However, an official confirmation about this is still awaited.

A statement issued by the SKM said: "A Nihang group at the scene has claimed responsibility, saying that the incident took place because of the victim's attempt to commit sacrilege with regard to the Sarbaloh Granth. It is been reported that he was staying with the same group of Nihangs for some time."

"We received the information about the incident at around 5 a.m. in the morning that a man was found dead near the stage of farmers' protest site after which a team of cops was rushed to spot," Haryana Police said. He said they tried speaking to the protesters present on the site but none told them anything.

The body was found near the staging area of the anti-farm law protest site where the farmers have been demonstrating against the three farm laws for over 10 months now. An image that has been doing the rounds on social media shows the body having several marks and spots, an obvious indication of being beaten up or lynched by a mob before being murdered.

"The minister and his son must be lodged in separate barracks in Agra - not in Lakhimpur jail - because they are guilty of murder, the minister must resign and be arrested," he said. The minister and his son are accused in the October 3 incident in which nine persons, including four farmers, were mowed down by SUVs. The minister's son Ashish Mishra has already been arrested.

"Tens of thousands of farmers are expected to join the prayer meeting at Tikunia. SKM appeals the farmers' organisations and other progressive groups across the country to mark the Shaheed Kisan Diwas by organising prayer and homage meetings all over the country with candlelight vigils in the evening," the SKM said in a release here.

The Lakhimpur Kheri police has detained the driver of Ankit Das, the nephew of former Congress MP late Akhilesh Das, in connection with the death of four farmers who were mowed down by a vehicle belonging to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni.

According to sources, Misra has been arrested for not cooperating with the ongoing investigation by the police. After being served a second notice, Ashish Misra, who has been accused of running over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, appeared before the police on Saturday to record his statement.

The five demands put forth by the farmers organisation include a special prayer meeting for the farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri, Rail Roko Andolan, Shaheed Kisan yatra, burning effigies of BJP leaders on Dussehra and a Kisan mahapanchayat.