Lakhimpur Kheri Case: Charges Framed Against Union Minister's Son Accused Of Killing 4 Farmers

Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, has been named as the main accused in connection with the violence that broke out in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra

Source : PTI

A court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday framed charges against Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish and 13 others in connection with the violence that broke out in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri where four farmers and a journalist were killed, PTI reported.

The development comes a day after the court rejected Mishra's discharge petition. Ashish Mishra has been named as the main accused in the case.

District government counsel (Criminal) Arvind Tripathi said the court of additional district judge Sunil Kumar Verma fixed December 16 as the next date of hearing. 

"Today charges have been framed against Ashish Mishra (son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra) and 13 others. The 14th accused Virendra Shukla has been charged under Section 201. Trial in the case will begin on December 16," ANI quoted Tripathi as saying.

READ | Lakhimpur Kheri Case: Court Rejects Discharge Petition Of Union Minister Ajay Mishra's Son

Police has alleged that Mishra was in an SUV that ran over four farmers and a journalist during a protest march in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 last year.

Visuals of the incident, which had gone viral, showed the SUV ramming into the protesting farmers at high speed. 

The incident sparked a wave of outrage against the ruling BJP and the Uttar Pradesh government was accused of shielding Mishra by the Oppisition.

Ashish Mishra was arrested days after the incident amid Opposition pressure and massive protests by farmers. 

However, the Allahabad High Court granted him bail in February. On April 18, the Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted to Ashish Mishra and asked him to surrender within a week.

The court observed that the victims were denied a "fair and effective hearing" in the Allahabad High Court, and added that the court took a "myopic view of the evidence".

In the discharge plea filed before the Lakhimpur Kheri court, Ashish Mishra and the other accused had contended that they had been wrongly charged. The court rejected the pleas of all the accused.