Lakhimpur violence: Court rejects discharge pleas of Ashish Mishra, others
Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Dec, 2022 11:59 AM
Lakhimpur Kheri, Dec 6 (IANS) A local court has dismissed the discharge applications of 13 accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur violence case, including that of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State (Home) Ajay Kumar Mishra 'Teni'.
The court of additional district judge I Sunil Kumar Verma has fixed December 6 as the date for framing the charges against the accused in the October 3 violence last year, the government's counsel Arvind Tripathi said.
After the hearing of their applications, the court rejected the pleas of all 13 accused.
Ashish is the main accused in the incident wherein a vehicle belonging to the Union minister allegedly mowed down four farmers during a protest against the now-repealed agricultural laws. Two BJP workers and a driver were beaten to death, while a local journalist was killed in the violence that ensued.
Farmers maintain that Ashish was in the lead car that ran over people. The minister and his son have denied the latter's alleged involvement.
Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram said his party is protesting the ED summons to Sonia Gandhi. "The AJL-Young India transaction is recorded in the books of account, the returns filed by the two companies and in the Income Tax returns. All that the ED wants to know can be found in the records," he said.
During a meeting with Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and other officers, who called on him at his official residence here, Mann said that gangsters and drug peddlers were patronised by the previous governments.
The accused were identified as Neelam (35), Sunita (35), Neeta (34) and Savitri (34). DCP (Dwarka) M. Harsh Wardhan said the staff of Anti-Narcotics Cell received a secret information that some women sell drugs at Indira market near Anaj Mandi, Najafgarh.
According to the official, the main accused, Abhishek Chhabra was running the fake call-centre for the last one month. The victims of the scam are mainly the people residing in the foreign countries.
13 people have been arrested in the case so far after the first arrest was made on May 30, a day after the murder of Moosewala. Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Bishnoi gang, had claimed responsibility for Moosewala's murder.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Sharma, contended that new FIRs are being registered, and added that they will pick her up. The bench said: "No coercive action to be taken against present or future FIRs in relation to the same telecast..."