Police use water cannon to disperse AAP workers trying to lay siege to Pb guv's house

Police used a water cannon to disperse AAP workers trying to lay siege to the Punjab governor's house here on Wednesday over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh.

Chandigarh:Police used a water cannon to disperse AAP workers trying to lay siege to the Punjab governor's house here on Wednesday over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh. The police had put up barricades near the MLA hostel here to stop protesters from going towards the Punjab Raj Bhavan.

When the AAP workers, led by party MLA Saravjit Kaur Manuke, tried to break the barricades and march towards the governor's residence, the Chandigarh Police used a water cannon to disperse them. Meanwhile, another group of AAP protesters and the party's Punjab affairs incharge Jarnail Singh were detained near the UT guest house.

They sat on the road and raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre. The police forcibly removed them from the protest site and took them to a nearby police station. Singh demanded the arrest of all those who were behind the killing of farmers.

Read: Will throw BJP out of Punjab, country: Punjab Finance Minister

Four of the eight people who died in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area. The four others included two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

While the first three were allegedly lynched by agitating farmers, the scribe, according to his father, died after being hit by a vehicle when he was covering news of farmers' protest against Maurya's visit to Ajay Mishra's native place. The UP Police has lodged a case against Ajay Mishra's son but no arrest has been made so far.

PTI