Farmers who have lost loved ones have been deeply saddened by Ashish Mishra’s bail, who is the son of union minister Ajay Mishra and is accused of murder in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh granted him bail Thursday, pointing out the discrepancies in the case against him. The order has triggered a debate, especially during the election season in the state, where the ruling BJP is seeking a second term in power.
The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench granted Ashish Mishra alias Monu, the son of main accused Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, bail in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which several farmers were killed. Ashish was arrested on October 9 in connection with the violence that erupted on October 3 in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.
Sukhwinder Singh, father of 19-year-old Gurvinder Singh who was mowed down by Ashish Mishra’s car on October 3 last year, said, “His getting bail so soon is not a good sign. We did not have any hopes earlier with this government. We don’t have any hope now.”
Despite farmers’ demands, the government has not removed the junior home minister, claiming that the incident is still being investigated.
"Modi ji sits there and gives one jumla (political promise) after the other. But he cannot even remove his own minister," Sukhwinder Singh went on to say.
Aman Kashyap, the brother of Raman Kashyap, the journalist who was also killed along with four farmers, said that an accused’s release on bail is not the same as an acquittal.
“We will continue to fight… just because he has got bail does not mean the case has ended. These people are in power in the state and Centre. This is why this has happened. But the people will reply to them. Maybe they felt that if the government changes, they will not be able to do what they are doing now,” Kashyap said.
Ashish Mishra was allegedly inside an SUV that ran over four farmers protesting against three controversial farm rules in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 of last year. After the Supreme Court intervened, he was arrested a few days later.
The Allahabad High Court today questioned some of the charges against him, including firing at protesters, in its bail order.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case as a whole, it is evident that the applicant (Ashish Mishra) was assigned the role of firing for killing the protesters in the FIR, but no such firearm injuries were found either on the bodies of any of the deceased or on the bodies of any injured person during the course of investigation,” the court said.
Ashish Mishra is accused of inciting the SUV driver to run over farmers, according to the judges. “Thereafter, the prosecution alleged that the applicant (Ashish Mishra) provoked the driver of the vehicle for crushing the protesters, however, the driver along with two others, who were in the vehicle, had been killed by the protesters.”
In this context, the court further stated that it “cannot turn a blind eye to the murder of three people in the Thar SUV, including the driver, by protesters.”
The court stated that photographs “clearly exposed the violence of the demonstrators,” naming the victims as Hariom Mishra, Shubham Mishra, and Shyam Sunder.
In the case, a second charge sheet was issued, charging many farmers of murder.
What Prime Minister Narendra Modi said?
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.
Also Read: Union Minister Ajay Teni's son gets bail granted by the HC
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