Union minister's son Ashish Mishra surrenders in Lakhimpur court

Lakhimpur, April 24

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Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra today surrendered in a local court here, days after the SC cancelled his bail in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. “Ashish has surrendered in the court. We were given a week’s time, but as Monday was the last day, he surrendered a day ahead,” said Ashish’s counsel Awadesh Singh.

Jail Superintendent PP Singh said Ashish would be kept in a separate barrack in the jail due to security reasons. The Supreme Court had on April 18 cancelled the bail granted to Ashish and asked him to surrender in a week.

As many as eight persons were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that erupted while farmers were protesting against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area on October 3 last year.

The dead included four farmers and a journalist, who were mowed down allegedly by cars carrying workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

According to the FIR lodged in the case, Ashish was sitting in one of the cars. Later, the police had arrested Ashish Mishra.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad HC had granted regular bail to him and opined that the present case was one of “accident by hitting with the vehicle”.

Cancelling his bail, the Supreme Court said the victims were denied “a fair and effective hearing” in the Allahabad High Court, which adopted a “myopic view of the evidence”.

The top court had also noted that a victim has unbridled participatory rights from the stage of investigation till the culmination of the proceedings in an appeal or revision.—