New Delhi: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Cout has granted bail to MoS Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Ashish Mishra is the key accused in the violence that claimed eight lives on October 3 under the Tikunia police station limits of Lakhimpur Kheri. He was arrested on October 9 and is in jail.
Ashish Mishra 'Teni' had moved to Allahabad High Court after his bail plea was rejected by the lower court. Justice Rajiv Singh's bench had heard his plea on January 18, 2022, and reserved its order which was announced today.
The counsel appearing on behalf of the Union minister's son had told the court that his client was innocent and there was no evidence against him that he incited the driver of a vehicle to crush the farmers.
Ashish Mishra's advocate Salil Kumar Srivastava said that the police could not prove in their report that Ashish was present in the vehicle that drove farmers to death and claimed that the police did not do a proper investigation. He said that 192 affidavits were filed on behalf of the defense which stated that Ashish Mishra was not at the spot but the police did not include the affidavit in its investigation and chargesheet.
Srivastava claimed that Ashish's driver Hariom Mishra was driving the Thar jeep from which the farmer was crushed to death, hence he is at fault. Ashish Mishra will be released from jail in a day or two.
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General V K Shahi had said that at the time of the incident, Ashish Mishra was in the car that mowed down the farmers.
Ashish Mishra was declared the main accused in the chargesheet filed by Special Investigation (SIT). The decision comes on a day the first phase polling began in Uttar Pradesh.
The Lakhimpur Kheri violence which took place on October 3 shocked the nation. Four farmers were crushed to death under the wheels of a convoy of cars, including the one belonging to Union minister Ajay Mishra. The incident also claimed the life of a journalist.
The convoy had run over a group of farmers demonstrating against the visit of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Teni's native place for a programme.
In an interview with ANI yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also reacted to the Lakhimpur incident for the first time and said the Yogi Adityanath government "is working transparently" in the probe.
"The state government gave its consent for whatever committee the Supreme Court wanted, for whichever judge the Supreme Court wanted for the probe. The state government is working transparently," the Prime Minister said.