Ashis Mishra, son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni, was arrested on Saturday night after almost 12 hours of questioning by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the Lakhimpur Kheri carnage.
Around 10.45pm, an officer stepped out of the crime branch office at Lakhimpur Kheri where Ashis was being questioned and said: “After long interrogation, we conclude that Ashis Mishra is non-cooperative. He is not replying to many of our questions. We are taking him into custody on this ground. We are arresting him.”
Ajay Mishra, was produced before a court here late on Saturday night, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the October 3 Lakhimpur violence.
PTI
The officer did not identify himself.
Ashis, accused of being in his father’s Thar jeep when it mowed down four farmers and a journalist on Sunday, had arrived for interrogation at 11am after having missed the first summons to appear at 10am on Friday.
The Supreme Court had on Friday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government while alluding to Ashis being merely summoned rather than arrested, asking whether “(all) accused in the country would be treated the same way” when there is “a serious allegation of death or gunshot injury”.
State government counsel Harish Salve had then told the court he had been “assured at the highest level that between today and tomorrow, whatever is the shortfall will be filled up”.
On Saturday, a local police officer claimed Ashis had come armed with videos to try and establish he was in his village of Banvirpur when the carnage took place 4km away in Tikunia.
The officer, who sought anonymity, expressed doubt whether the videos could establish Ashis’s contention. “However, we don’t know how the SIT will react to the clips,” he had said in the evening.
At his Lakhimpur Kheri office in the afternoon, Teni told his supporters: “I have faith in the law and believe my son will emerge unscathed. We are happy to cooperate with the investigation.”
Ashis had arrived at the crime branch office accompanied by two lawyers and four relatives, all of whom remained inside the building throughout the interrogation, police sources said.
Over 1,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in and around the building, as well as the police lines compound where it is located. While journalists waited outside the crime branch office — held back by a human chain of policemen — a crowd of about 100 people stood outside the compound gate, about 50 metres away. Among them were many BJP supporters.
Local people said hundreds of farmers had gathered across roads and fields within a kilometre of the police lines and were constantly in touch with their sources stationed outside the compound gate.
Over 100 BJP workers held a candlelight march in Lakhimpur town on Saturday evening, demanding the arrest of the killers of Shubham Mishra, a booth-level leader of the party.
Mishra and two others — said to be inside the cars in a convoy led by the Thar — were allegedly beaten to death by farmers after five people were run over and killed.
In the morning, Shubham’s brother Shantanu had told The Telegraph over the phone: “It’s obvious that both sides are blaming each other. All I know is that my brother was killed. We all, including his wife Rekha and one-year-old daughter Akriti, should get justice.”