Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Ashish Mishra, son of MoS Home Ajay Mishra Teni, gets bail
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC on Thursday granted bail to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, and the prime accused in the mowing down four farmers in Lakhimpur on October 3, following a protest by farmers, has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench.
Mishra was arrested on October 9 last year by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was probing the incident.
“Ashish Mishra has been arrested as he was not cooperating during the interrogation and did not answer a few questions,” DIG Upendra Agarwal had told reporters at the time of his arrest.
An FIR was registered against him and a few others over the incident, but the UP Police did not move against him until the Supreme Court decided to take up the matter. His arrest came a day after the apex court expressed its dissatisfaction with the UP government over the action taken in the case.
Ashish Mishra turned up for questioning the second time he was summoned, and after 12 hours the nine-member SIT headed by DIG Agarwal, arrested him.
Eight people were killed on October 3, 2021, after violence erupted during a farmers’ protest, claiming the lives of farmers and BJP workers ahead of a visit to Lakhimpur by UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Four of the dead were farmers who were mowed down by a speeding SUV, belonging to Ashish Mishra. One journalist covering the incident was also killed in the incident. Three BJP workers were killed in retaliatory violence.
Local farmers had blamed Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ and his son Ashish Mishra for the violence that left eight dead, including four farmers, a local journalist, and three others. They were mowed down allegedly by a vehicle that was part of the convoy of the Minister in Lakhimpur Kheri in north-central Uttar Pradesh.
An SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence had filed a charge sheet against four people in connection with the lynching of two BJP workers and a car driver. Two FIRs were registered after the incident in October last year.
In the first FIR, Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son and around 15 to 20 people have been accused of mowing down four farmers and a journalist during a protest over the visit of UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
The second FIR was lodged by one Sumit Jaiswal against unidentified people, alleging that they lynched two BJP workers and a driver during the violence on October 3.
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