A witness to the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre has alleged being attacked with swords on Saturday night by three people, at least one of whom he described as a “henchman” of prime suspect Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni.

Farmer Prabhjot Singh, the third witness in the case to be attacked, said the assault took place in Tikunia, Teni’s village.

He alleged the police had refused to accept his written complaint unless he deleted the name of Ashish, a charge the police denied.

The district police chief blamed a “personal dispute” for the attack.

Ashish is in jail on murder charges, accused of mowing down five people — four farmers protesting against his father, and a journalist — with Teni’s car in Lakhimpur on October 3, 2021.

Prabhjot said he and brother Sarvajeet were attacked while returning home to Kolhari from Tikunia, 15km away, where they had attended the mundan of a friend’s son.

“Some henchmen of Ashish had seen us and were waiting for us outside our host’s house. They stopped our motorcycle and started abusing me. They asked how I had dared entered Ashish’s village,” Prabhjot told reporters on Sunday.

“As my brother and I reacted, they attacked us with swords that they were carrying. I escaped unhurt but my brother suffered cuts on the back of his head. The attackers left as soon as Sarvajeet dropped to the ground.” Sarvajeet received three stitches at a private hospital and was discharged in the morning, Prabhjot said.

“I went to Kotwali police station with fellow villagers in the night. Raju Rao, the officer in charge, said I must remove Ashish’s name from the complaint, else he wouldn’t accept it. We returned, leaving the application on his table,” he said.

Prabhjot said he could identify one of the three attackers and had mentioned his name with Ashish’s in the complaint.

Rao told reporters on Sunday: “Nobody came to me, nor have I received any such complaint.”

Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police Sanjeev Suman later said: “It looks like a fight between two groups over a personal dispute. It has nothing to do with the Tikunia incident (Lakhimpur Kheri massacre). We are probing the matter.”