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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: SC unhappy with UP govt report, will appoint ex-HC judge to monitor probe
The Supreme Court said there was nothing in the status report other than the government saying that more witnesses had been examined in the case.
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its disappointment over a status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government on the October 3 violence that erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri in which eight people, including four farmers and a local journalist, were killed.
The court said there was nothing in the status report other than the government stating that more witnesses had been examined in the case. “This is not going the way we expected,” the court said.
Further, unhappy over mixing of witnesses in different FIRs in the case, the apex court said it will appoint a former judge of a high court from outside UP to monitor the investigation. The matter will be heard next on Friday.
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“To ensure there is no mix up of evidence in the case, we are inclined to appoint a former judge of a different high court to monitor the probe in the case,” the court said and suggested the names of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain (retired) or justice Ranjit Singh (retired) from Punjab and Haryana High Court to oversee the ongoing investigation.
The government, meanwhile, informed the court that the local journalist, Raman Kashyap, was not killed by the farmers , but died after he was crushed by the offending vehicle involved in the incident.
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The court also wanted to know the government had seized only Ashish Mishra's phone, and not others accused in the case.
The police have so far arrested some of the accused, including Ashish, son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, in connection with the case.
A bench comprising, Chief Justice NV Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, was hearing the matter in which the apex court had on October 26 directed the Yogi Adityanath government to provide protection to witnesses under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018.
(With inputs from bureau and agencies)
