Lakhimpur Kheri case: Accused Ashish Mishra walks free after four months
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Feb, 2022 12:34 PM
Lucknow, Feb 15 (IANS) Ashish Mishra, son of union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, who was accused of mowing down four farmers in Lakhimpur on October 3 last year, following a protest by farmers, was released from Lakhimpur jail on Tuesday evening, after the Allahabad High Court corrected its order.
Ashish Mishra had moved the Lucknow bench of the High Court seeking insertion of sections 302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC that were 'inadvertently' not mentioned in the high court order as the jail authorities would not release him due to the omission.
"It is a mere typographical error, while the court already considered the bail under these sections too and, as such, the same may be allowed making the addition of these sections in the order," said the application.
Ashish 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 turned up for questioning the second time he was summoned, and after 12 hours the nine-member SIT headed by DIG Agarwal, arrested him.
It may be recalled that 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.
The Special Investigation Team probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident has said that there was a planned conspiracy to murder protesting farmers.
Meanwhile, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesman, Rakesh Tikait, has said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will approach the Supreme Court over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence episode in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.
Although the department has all infrastructural needs in place to deal with the large number of cases expected in case of the third wave becoming a reality, he also appealed to the people to get themselves fully vaccinated against the virus as it is the most potent tool to avoid Covid-19.
Regretting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to cancel his scheduled visit to Ferozepur midway, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said on Wednesday that there was no security lapse that led to the cancellation of the Prime Ministers visit to the bordering town.
Holding the Punjab government squarely responsible for the "gross security lapse" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, that eventually led to cancellation of all his programmes, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday demanded dismissal of the government and imposition of President's rule.
With the spike in Covid-19 cases, Punjab on Tuesday imposed statewide night curfew daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and ordered closure of all educational institutions till January 15.
The accused, identified as Ashish Kumar, tied his wife Ranjan Devi and son Vaibhav to the bed and set them on fire at his house in Mayurwa locality, which comes under the Triveniganj police station.
Nearly 100 students and resident doctors of the Government Medical College in Patiala in Punjab have tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Tuesday. A retirement party and New Year Eve's party held on the college campus without following appropriate Covid-19 behaviour is blamed for alarming spike in the cases.
