Lakhimpur Kheri violence: HC grants bail to Union minister’s son Ashish Mishra
A convoy in which at least one car belonged to Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni ran over farmers during a stand-off near Tikunia on October 3. The incident triggered protests, which left four more persons dead
LUCKNOW: The Allahabad high court’s Lucknow bench on Thursday granted bail to Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son, Ashish Mishra, who was arrested in October in connection with the mowing down of four farmers who were protesting in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district against three controversial farm deregulation laws that were eventually scrapped late last year.
Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the case, at the crime branch office in Lakhimpur Kheri to give his statement on October 9, 2021. (HT photo/ File)
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A convoy in which at least one vehicle belonged to Teni ran over farmers during a tense stand-off near Tikunia on October 3. The incident triggered protests, which left four more people dead, including a local journalist.
Teni maintained his son was not present at the site of the vehicle-ramming incident. He insisted that their driver was at the wheel, and the car lost control before slamming into the farmers. The state has said it has “clinching evidence” of Mishra’s presence at the scene.
Mishra was arrested after the Supreme Court on October 9 criticised the lenient treatment he seemed to be receiving from the police.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rajeev Singh granted bail to Ashish Mishra, who is the first of the 13 arrested accused to get it. It concluded the hearing on his bail application and reserved the order last month.
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“The court has granted bail to Ashish Mishra,” said Vinod Kumar Shahi, additional advocate general.
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“The court has granted bail to Ashish Mishra,” said Vinod Kumar Shahi, additional advocate general.
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The court was yet to upload the bail order.
The Supreme Court in November appointed retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence to “ensure transparency, fairness and absolute impartiality in the outcome of the investigation”.
On November 8, the bench pulled up the Uttar Pradesh police, saying the investigation into the case appeared to be favouring the “main accused”.
Pawan Dixit, Assistant Editor, brings over 20 years of frontline reporting experience to the newsroom. A specialist on Uttar Pradesh politics and governance, he has reported from the ground across the state’s most consequential stories. He cut his teeth in eastern UP, spending 15 years covering the region. Based in Varanasi, he reported the 2012 UP Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that reshaped the state’s political map. Moving to Lucknow in 2016, he has since led coverage of the 2017 and 2022 UP Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. His reporting tracks the BJP’s strategy, opposition moves, and voter sentiment across all 75 districts. Pawan has been a constant presence in Ayodhya since 2016. He reported the entire arc of the Ram Mandir movement — from the legal fight to the Supreme Court verdict, through temple construction, to the inauguration. He continues to track every development at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. On the state beat, he covers the BJP, the Industrial Development Department, and handles key outstation political assignments. He also reports major cases from the district court, Lucknow bench of the High Court, and the State Information Commission. Along with this, he also reports on NGT's important decisions related to UP. Known for sharp sourcing and clear analysis, Pawan connects politics, policy, infrastructure and faith — the forces driving UP today. He has reported developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir movement since 2016. The Supreme Court's Ram Mandir verdict, temple construction and the its opening have been reported by him.
He reports all developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir Trust.
He covers state BJP, Industrial development department, outstation political assignments, reports special cases from district court, high court and state information commission
