A 55-year-old farmer, Ram Swaroop Dhakad, was killed in Ganeshpura village of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, after a local BJP leader and his associates allegedly broke his limbs and ran him over with a Thar jeep on Sunday.

The attack, which also left his daughters assaulted and his wife injured, has revived memories of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri case, where the son of a Union minister was accused of mowing down protesting farmers.

According to police, the incident occurred under the Fatehgarh police station area when Dhakad and his wife were walking to their field on Sunday morning. The FIR names BJP leader Mahendra Nagar, three women from his family, and 14 others as accused.

“On the way, Nagar and his aides surrounded Dhakad, attacked him with sticks and rods, and later ran a Thar jeep over his body,” the police report stated.

Dhakad’s family alleged that Nagar had been threatening small farmers in the area to sell their land at low prices. Dhakad’s refusal, they said, led to the fatal assault.

His daughters rushed to the scene after hearing their parents’ cries and were allegedly beaten and humiliated.

“I went to save my father. They sat on top of me, assaulted me and even tore my clothes. They also shot at me. My parents were going to the farm when the accused came out and started attacking them. When my mother tried to intervene, they ran their car over my father,” one of Dhakad’s daughters told reporters.

Dhakad’s brother, Ramkumar, said the violence went on for nearly an hour. “They tore off the clothes of both the girls and there were around 20 people firing in the air, so we got scared. They continued the assault for around an hour. The accused then ran a tractor over him and later a car,” he said.

Police officials confirmed that Dhakad’s body was not immediately allowed to be taken to hospital. “The injured farmer was not allowed to be taken to the hospital for about an hour, as the accused kept his body under guard at gunpoint,” an officer said.

By the time he was taken to the district hospital, Dhakad succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Fatehgarh station house officer Jayanarayan Sharma said an FIR has been registered against Nagar and others under charges of murder, criminal assault, and intimidation. “Statements from the victim’s family have been recorded, and raids are underway to arrest the accused,” he added.

Congress MLA from Bamori, Rishi Agrawal blamed the ruling BJP government for the growing lawlessness. “Cases of violence, looting and rape are increasing in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister of the state is also the home minister, and all this is happening under his watch. The police are working in fear of those in power,” Agrawal said.

Residents of Ganeshpura told reporters that Mahendra Nagar had long intimidated small farmers, forcing around 25 of them to sell their land at throwaway prices and leave the village, according to a report by India Today.

The Guna incident has drawn comparisons with the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri case in Uttar Pradesh, where Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, was accused of running over farmers with a Mahindra Thar SUV.

On October 3, 2021, Mishra’s convoy allegedly ploughed through a crowd of protesting farmers and a journalist, killing five people. The driver and two BJP workers were later lynched by enraged farmers.

Days earlier, Mishra’s father had allegedly warned in a speech that he would “fix” protesting farmers “in two minutes.” Mishra Jr. was later arrested after the Supreme Court intervened. In 2022, he was released from jail and left through a back gate in an SUV — a departure from standard procedure for prisoners.