Ajay Kumar Mishra, Union Minister of State, has said that his son Ashish Mishra will appear in court on Saturday in connection with the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
On October 3, eight people were killed during a farmers’ protest against Ajay Mishra’s visit to Lakhimpur Kheri. Farmer unions have accused Ashish of running over the farmers who were protesting. Ashish has been named in an FIR, but he has yet to be apprehended by police. After failing to appear by the Friday deadline, the Uttar Pradesh Police issued a notice to Ashish, requesting that he appear before it by 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Ajay Mishra stated that his son did not attend the summons on Friday due to health concerns.
Ashish claims he was not in the car and was attending an event in his ancestral village when the incident occurred, whereas Ajay Mishra claims the deaths occurred after the car in question overturned after being attacked by miscreants.
Mishra also claims that the miscreants murdered his driver and three members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Two people were arrested on Thursday for allegedly being in the same vehicle that ran over a journalist and farmers.
The Supreme Court issued a stinging rebuke after state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated that his administration will “not arrest anyone on allegations.” The Chief Minister slammed opposition leaders who rushed to meet with families affected by the incident, saying, “They are no goodwill messengers.”
Union Minister Anurag Thakur also slammed “political tourism” in Uttar Pradesh in the aftermath of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. “Some people, I believe, do not believe in the legal system. Those who are doing political tourism in Uttar Pradesh as a result of the Lakhimpur incident are unlucky “Thakur stated.
The Supreme Court reminded the Uttar Pradesh government that the law must take its course against “whoever is involved,” saying it was “unsatisfied with the action taken thus far.”
“What is the message you are conveying? Will the police not go immediately and arrest the accused, even under normal circumstances? Things haven’t gone as smoothly as they should have. It appears that only words are being used and no actions are being taken “NV Ramana, Chief Justice stated.