BKU leader Dilbag Singh, a witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, was allegedly shot at by two unidentified assailants here, police said on Wednesday.

Singh, however, did not sustain any injuries in the attack that took place on Tuesday night.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) district president claimed he was returning home via the Aliganj-Muda road in the Gola Kotwali area in his SUV when the bike-borne assailants opened fire at him.

Singh is one of the witnesses in Tikunia violence of October 3, 2021, in which eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, died. Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was arrested in connection with the incident.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav attacked the state government over the incident and asked if this was the state government's zero tolerance towards crime and criminals.

Talking to PTI over phone, Singh said the assailants punctured a tyre of his SUV, forcing him to stop his vehicle.

"The assailants attempted to open the doors and windows of the SUV. After they failed, they fired two shots at the windowpane on the driver's side," he alleged, adding that he was travelling alone.

Sensing the intentions of the assailants, Singh said, he folded his seat and ducked.

He said the assailants could not figure out whether he was shot or not as the windows of his SUV were covered with dark film.

Singh said he had sent his official gunman (provided to him by the district administration) on leave owing to his son's sudden sickness.

He said he lodged a complaint at Gola Kotwali police station soon after the attack and also informed BKU-Tikait spokesperson Rakesh Tikait about it.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh told PTI that on Singh's complaint, an FIR has been registered under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Forensic teams had been sent to the spot to examine the vehicle and the crime scene and collect evidence, he said, adding that efforts are on to identify the attackers.

The ASP said the BKU leader sent his gunman on leave without intimating the senior police authorities.

"If the matter of his gunman proceeding on leave had been communicated to us, we would have provided him with another gunman as an alternative arrangement," the officer said.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the state government over the incident.

"The shameful example of the anti-farmer attitude of the chief minister has just been seen in Lakhimpur Kheri where two bike riders opened fire on the vehicle of Dilbag Singh, district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait Group)," Yadav said in a statement.

"Dilbag Singh is also a witness to the Tikunia incident that took place on October 3, 2021, when the farmers were crushed by a jeep by the son of a Union minister of state. He (Dilbagh Singh) had a narrow escape. The attackers wanted to kill him. Is this the BJP government's zero-tolerance (towards crime)?"