The Supreme Court on Monday expressed regret over the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, calling it unfortunate. The top court said that nobody takes responsibility when something like this happens.

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“Nobody takes responsibility when such unfortunate incidents take place,” the court said in its observation. It was hearing a petition filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat seeking permission to hold protest (which it calls Satyagrah) at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, who was appearing for the Centre, said that there should be no further protests to prevent incidents like Lakhimpur Kheri.

Venugopal also expressed regret at Sunday’s violence. “Such unfortunate incidents should not happen. The protests must stop,” he said.

The top court, meanwhile, said that it will examine whether a person/party who has moved a constitutional court be also allowed to protest against the same issue, and posted the matter for hearing on October 21.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday suspended internet services and barred politicians from entering Tikonia in Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people were killed in a deadly escalation of a year-long demonstration against contentious agriculture laws.

Tikonia is nearly 70 kilometres from the Lakhimpur Kheri district headquarters and very close to the India-Nepal border.

Eight people were killed in the violence – four of them farmers. The protesters have claimed that a car from the convoy of the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni ran over the protesters who were returning after staging a protest against the Centre’s new farm laws. The other four were beaten up by the protesters, according to the police.

The minister has denied that his son was in the car when it ran over the protesters.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government held negotiations with the protesting farmers, led by farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, and agreed to fulfill all their demands, including compensation for the families of the farmers killed and government job for kin. The minister and his son have been booked by the police based on a complaint by the farmers.

After the agreement, the farmers have allowed the administration to go ahead with the final rites of the protesters who were killed on Sunday.