Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Allahabad High Court Seeks UP Govt Response On Accused Ashish Mishra's Bail Plea

The Allahabad High Court today heard the bail plea filed by Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, and sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh Government within 10 days.The Bench of Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar, after hearing the arguments, gave the UP government 10 days' time e to file its reply on the bail application and to file the statements of all the witnesses.Mishra's Counsels argued that the role attributed to Mishra has not come out in the investigation.In related news, a court in Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) earlier this month rejected the bail petitions of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Misra 'Teni's son, Ashish Misra, Ashish Pandey, and Luvkush Rana in the case registered against them in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence incident.Earlier, Misra's bail had been denied by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lakhimpur Kheri, Chinta Ram.Sessions Judge Mukesh Mishra turned down their bail pleas after the prosecution presented the case diary, 60 eyewitnesses' statements, and ballistic reports of 4 firearms to establish their involvement in the crime.As per the report of Indian Express, the district government counsel Arvind Tripathi said that while rejecting the bail pleas of the three accused, the court said that the case is of serious nature and that the investigation is currently on. On October 9, he had appeared before the Crime Branch office in Lakhimpur Kheri pursuant to a notice issued to him by the UP Police. Thereafter, he was arrested and sent to the Lakhimpur jail at around 1 am on Sunday (October 10) after 12 hours of questioning.Background of the CaseOn October 3, several farmers were holding protests against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Lakhimpur Kheri district, when four protesting farmers were killed after they were mowed down by an SUV.Allegedly, the SUV was part of the convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.The police filed a first information report against Ashish Mishra (son of minister Ajay Kumar Mishra) and several others in connection with the violence under Section 302 IPC.An alleged video of the incident has also surfaced in social media showing a group of protesters moving forward on a road next to farm fields and then being mowed down by a grey SUV that speeds up from behind.On November 8th, the Supreme Court had expressed its dissatisfaction with the Uttar Pradesh Police probe and said that it was proposing to appoint a retired judge from a High Court of another state to monitor the investigation.

Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Allahabad High Court Seeks UP Govt Response On Accused Ashish Mishra's Bail Plea

Sparsh Upadhyay

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