The Allahabad High Court on Thursday granted bail to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, who was arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that killed eight people including four farmers.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union and the Rashtriya Lok Dal expressed displeasure over Mishra's bail. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra renewed her demand for the minister's resignation. The Lucknow bench of the court had reserved its order on January 18 on Ashish Mishra's plea after concluding the hearing through video-conferencing.
On Thursday, Justice Rajeev Singh delivered the order, granting bail to Mishra who had spent four month in custody. The counsel appearing on behalf of the minister's son had told the court that his client was innocent and there was no evidence against him that he incited the driver of a vehicle to crush the farmers.
Ajay Mishra Teni File Picture
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General V K Shahi had said that at the time of the incident, Ashish Mishra was in the car that mowed down the farmers. On October 3, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri during violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area. Four farmers were moved down by an SUV. A driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers.
A journalist also died in the violence that triggered outrage among opposition parties and farmer groups agitating over the Centre's now-repealed agri laws. RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary who failed to cast his vote today hit out at the "system" that granted bail to Mishra. What a system! Mowed down four farmers, got bail in four months," Chaudhary tweeted in Hindi.
BKU spokesperson Saurabh Upadhyay described the court order granting bail to the minister's son as an attack" on democracy. "Is it that easy for people charged with murder to get bail?" he asked, slamming the Modi government letting the minister continue on his post.
"When will the farmers of the country get justice?" Upadhyay said, claiming that the government is yet to deliver on the promises made to the farmers who ended their year-long laws protest in December. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra renewed the opposition demand that the accused's father should resign.
Everyone says our prime minister is a good man, then why did he not ask his minister to resign? Does he not have any moral responsibility towards the country?" she said at a poll meeting in Rampur.
"Today that man has got bail and soon, he would be roaming around openly - the man who mowed you down. But whom did the government save? Did it save the farmers? Where were the police and the administration when farmers were killed?" she asked.
