The Allahabad high court on Thursday granted bail to Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, and cast doubts on the police investigation into the violence that roiled Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 and killed eight people.
The decision of the Lucknow bench of the high court came on a day assembly elections began in Uttar Pradesh with 58 seats going to the polls in the western part of the state. Anger over the farm protests and the death of four cultivators in the Lakhimpur violence is a poll issue in the region, and Opposition politicians and farm groups criticised the court’s decision.
Justice Rajeev Singh directed Mishra, who is charged with murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code), attempt to murder (Section 307) attempt to murder and rioting (Section 147), to not leave the state without permission and not to tamper with any evidence.
“It is evident that as per the FIR, the role of firing was assigned to the applicant for killing the protesters…But during the course of investigation, no such firearm injuries were found either on the body of any of the deceased or on the body of any injured person,” said the bail order.
“…thousands of protesters gathered at the place of incident and there might be a possibility that the driver tried to speed up the vehicle to save himself, on account of which, the incident had taken place,” the judge added.
{{/usCountry}}“…thousands of protesters gathered at the place of incident and there might be a possibility that the driver tried to speed up the vehicle to save himself, on account of which, the incident had taken place,” the judge added.
{{/usCountry}}Four farmers and a journalist died when an SUV owned by Ajay Mishra ran over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3. In the ensuing violence, three more people — two of whom were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and one was the driver of the car — were killed. The incident ignited nationwide protests with Opposition parties pushing for the resignation of Ajay Mishra, the minister of state for home.
Thirteen people, including Ashish Mishra, are in jail over the deaths of the four farmers and journalist. A second FIR was filed over the deaths of the other three people, and four farmers are in jail for their alleged connection with the crime.
In its bail order on Thursday, the court blamed the district administration for not controlling the crowd and took a strong view on the alleged mob violence. “While considering the overall facts of the case, this court cannot shut its eyes to the killing of three persons sitting in the Thar vehicle, including the driver, who were killed by the protesters,” said the court.
“The photograph available in the case diary clearly reveals the brutality of the protesters those who were beating the said three persons,” the judge added.
On December 14, a local court in Uttar Pradesh added stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act, including attempt to murder, to the FIR after a special investigation team (SIT) said that violence was “well planned” and “deliberate”.
On January 3, the SIT filed a 5,000-page charge sheet against Ashish Mishra and 13 others, booking them under sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 326, 302, 120B, 427 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and appropriate sections of the Arms Act and the Motor Vehicles Act. The investigators said Ashish Mishra was present at the spot when violence broke out. The minister and his son had maintained that they were not near the area that day.
On January 21, the UP Police filed a charge sheet against four farmers for allegedly murdering the driver and two BJP workers.
Ashish Mishra is the second person to get bail in the high-profile case.
Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri case: 4 farmers charged over killings of BJP workers, driver
The court said that the district administration was well aware of the fact that thousands of people from different districts and other states came to Lakhimpur Kheri to take part in the protest but did little to contain the gathering. “It is noteworthy to mention here that there was serious lack of the district administration…neither any preventive action was taken nor any action against the organisers had been taken,” the court said. It directed chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra to issue necessary directives and guidelines for regulating such assemblies and processions to avoid inconvenience to the people.
The court noted that Ashish Mishra had appeared before the investigating officer when a notice was issued, and the charge sheet had already been filed. “In such circumstances, this court is of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail,” the judge said.
The court asked Ashish Mishra to fully cooperate with the investigation and not seek any adjournments. It also asked him to remain present, in person, before the trial court on the dates fixed for opening of the case, framing of charges and recording of statement.
The Opposition and farm groups criticised the decision.
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary hit out at the “system”. The RLD is hoping to leverage farm anger to win back the support of voters in its traditional bastion of west UP. “What a system! Mowed down four farmers, got bail in four months,” Chaudhary tweeted in Hindi.
Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Saurabh Upadhyay described the court order as unfortunate. “Is it that easy for people charged with murder to get bail? When will the farmers of the country get justice?” he asked.