File photo of Union MoS Ajay Mishra Teni's son Ashish Mishra after he was arrested in Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav/File)Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: The SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Thursday took Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra and three others arrested in the case to recreate the sequence of events leading to the incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Tikonia village. Amid tight security, the three accused were taken to the site of the incident on the Tikonia-Banbirpur road, around 60 km from district headquarters Lakhimpur city, police said.
Meanwhile, a local court in Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday denied bail to Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the murder of four farmers and a journalist who were allegedly run over by a convoy of SUVs, including a Thar jeep owned by his father and Union minister Ajay Mishra. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of UP Police, meanwhile, arrested two more persons — 38-year-old Ankit Das and 37-year-old Lateef alias Kala — in connection with the incident, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six.
Despite his arrest, Ashish, popular as Monu Bhaiyya in Banveerpur — Union minister Ajay Mishra’s village, most villagers vouch for his innocence. According to a villager, Banveerpur fears the Mishra family. “No one will say anything against Ashish or anyone from his family even after he killed four people. Such is their stature in the village,” alleges the 37-year-old farmer. Read our profile on the Mishras, here
UP Law Minister Brijesh Pathak Wednesday became the first senior BJP leader to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, 10 days after the violence in the area. But the Minister left after visiting the families of two of those killed: BJP worker Shubham Mishra and MoS Ajay Mishra’s driver Hari Om Mishra. He did not meet the families of four others from the area who lost their lives. When contacted by The Indian Express, Pathak said: “I will visit their families of Nishad and Kashyap as soon as the situation normalises in that region as they live close to the spot where the incident took place.”
Ashish Mishra at the Crime Branch office in Lakhimpur on Saturday. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastava)
BJP leader Ram Iqbal Singh Thursday accused Union minister Ajay Mishra of being behind the Lakhimpur violence and sought his sacking from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that questions are also being raised about the prime minister for not sacking the minister.
Alleging that Mishra was behind the violence, Singh, also a BJP state executive member, said his "threatening statement" added fuel to the fire.
"His son crushed farmers to death under his car. He was arrested after the intervention of the Supreme Court, but even today the minister is sitting on the chair. In such a situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him immediately," Singh told mediapersons.
He further said that the image of the BJP government has been "tarnished" by the Lakhimpur incident and the Gorakhpur businessman murder case. (PTI)
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait expressed dissatisfaction over the ongoing investigation into the Lakhimpur violence case on Thursday and said the "red-carpet arrest" of MoS Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish has fuelled anger among protesting farmers.
Demanding dismissal of Ajay Mishra, Tikait said there cannot be a fair investigation in the case if the accused person's father continues to hold the chair.
"The red carpet arrest of the minister's son who is the main accused in the incident has fuelled anger among the protesting farmers," the BKU leader told newspersons. "The whole world understands that no justice can be given if the minister whose son is being investigated continues to hold his chair," Tikait said at a function in Tappal town.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the ongoing probe, he claimed that the minister was influencing the SIT investigation. He reiterated that the protest against the Lakhimpur violence would intensify if Ajay Mishra was not removed from his post. (PTI)
The SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Thursday took Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra and three others arrested in the case to recreate the sequence of events leading to the incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Tikonia village. Amid tight security, the three accused were taken to the site of the incident on the Tikonia-Banbirpur road, around 60 km from district headquarters Lakhimpur city, police said.
Eight people died in the October 3 violence and of them, four were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Infuriated farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver. In the incident, a journalist was also killed. Farmers claimed that Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and his father who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time. (PTI)
BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday posted on Twitter a short clip of a speech of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1980 in which he warns the then Indira Gandhi government against repressing farmers and extends his support to them.
Gandhi tweeted, "Wise words from a big-hearted leader..." The BJP MP has been vocal in empathising with farmers agitating against the three agri laws enacted by the Modi government and sharing Vajpayee's speech is seen as his message to the central government.
In the video clip, Vajpayee is heard telling a gathering that farmers cannot be scared. "If the government will suppress (farmers), misuse laws and repress a peaceful agitation, then we will not shy away from joining the farmers' struggle and standing with them," he is heard saying.
At Banveerpur, Union minister Ajay Mishra’s village, most are willing to testify that his son Ashish Mishra was present at the venue of a wrestling event on October 3 when a convoy of vehicles, including one owned by his father, mowed down a group of farmers, killing four of them and a journalist.
Despite his arrest, Ashish, popular as Monu Bhaiyya, most villagers vouch for his innocence.
For them, among his three siblings, Ashish, the eldest, remains Ajay Mishra’s political and business heir. “After Teniji [Ajay Mishra] became the MP from Lakhimpur Kheri seat, it was Monu Bhaiyya who took over his reign in the district. People who would come to meet Teniji to resolve their issues started meeting Monu Bhaiyya,” says Akash Mittal, the 32-year-old pradhan of Banveerpur. Read more
On Lakhimpur Kheri violence, NCP chief Sharad Pawar targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for inaction. “UP CM Yogi Adityanath has abdicated his responsibility… by not taking action against those involved. He along with the Union Minister of State for Home need to resign,” Pawar said.
Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, is the main accused in the death of four farmers in the case.
Various civil society groups on Wednesday protested outside the Delhi Police headquarters here against the alleged sexual assault of two women students by police personnel during a recent protest, prompting the force to set up a panel to probe the claims. The Left-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) had on Tuesday alleged that two women students were sexually assaulted by Delhi Police personnel while they were protesting outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence here on October 10. The allegations were rejected by the police as "totally baseless."
Lashing out at the BJP, Samajwadi Party (SP)president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the saffron party would never act against the Union minister whose son has been arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur killings as it "stands with criminals", who are the happiest under the current regime.
In an indirect reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he used the term "chillumjeevi". "Chillum" is a smoking pipe often used by "sadhus". On his "Vijay Rath Yatra" here, Yadav said Adityanath has a liking for two things -- the bull and the bulldozer -- but the people of Bundelkhand have decided that the steering of the bulldozer, which is in their hands, will be snatched from him in next year's Assembly election. "They will run the bulldozer of votes on the BJP in the coming polls," he said. (PTI)
The Centre is using the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to "suppress" the voices of people who speak against the government, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary alleged on Wednesday. He also hit out at the Centre for not taking action against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra 'Teni', whose son has been arrested as an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that left eight people, including four farmers, dead.
"The prime minister (Narendra Modi) should have got the Union MoS Home arrested but he was not arrested and instead called to Delhi where the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) made him sit by his side and sent him back with his blessings to continue his work which is to crush the farmers, suppress the voices being raised against them," he told the gatherings, according to an RLD statement.
"There is a law, UAPA, which is used for the prevention of terrorist incidents. Today the same law is used by the government to stop the voices being raised against it. Since Modi ji has come to power, 8,300 cases have been registered under UAPA. This law is being used against those who speak against the government," he alleged.
Two more persons were on Wednesday arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur violence, while a court here denied bail to the main accused, Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Mishra.
Ankit Das and Latif alias Kale, who appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT), were taken in custody after questioning and produced in court which sent them in judicial remand for 14 days, official sources said.
With this, the total number of people arrested in connection with the mowing down of four farmers here on October 3 has gone to six. Read More
In a letter addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind, the delegation of Congress leaders demanded justice for the victims of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri. They also called for an independent judicial investigation and the dismissal of MoS Home Affairs, Ajay Mishra. Read the full letter.
A delegation of Congress leaders, led by former party president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the immediate dismissal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The delegation of senior Congress leaders also presented a memorandum of facts about the Lakhimpur Kheri incident to the President.
The delegation also comprised Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AK Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury besides Rahul Gandhi. (PTI)
The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is "absolutely condemnable," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised "when they happen and not when it suits others" because there is a BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. Sitharaman, who is on an official visit to the US, was responding to a question during a conversation at Harvard Kennedy School on Tuesday about the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri and the arrest of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra. (PTI)
The left-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) Tuesday alleged two women students were sexually assaulted by Delhi police personnel while they were part of a protest on Sunday near Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, demanding the expulsion of MoS Ajay Mishra over the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The allegations were rejected as "totally baseless" by the force. The AISA has called for a protest on Wednesday outside the Delhi Police Headquarters at Ashoka Road here against the alleged assault. (PTI)
A delegation of Congress leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, is set to meet President Ram Nath Kovind today to address the violence that broke out in Lakhimpur Kheri, in which eight people were killed. The delegation will submit a memorandum on the facts of the October 3 violence to the President, the party said.
The delegation will also comprise Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AK Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury besides Rahul Gandhi.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the killing of eight people in Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday arrested the driver of one of the SUVs that was part of the convoy which ran over a group of protesting farmers on October 3, the police said.
While four protesters and allegedly a journalist were run over, three others were killed in the subsequent violence.
The accused, Shekhar Bharti, was behind the wheel of one of three vehicles involved in the incident, police said. They said it was owned by Ankit Das, a close aide of Ashish Mishra, Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son, and nephew of former Rajya Sabha MP and UPA minister Akhilesh Das, police said. Read the full report here.
The "political ardas" organised by the opposition parties in Lakhimpur Kheri in the name of paying tributes to the farmers who died in violence there was a "flop show", a UP government spokesperson said on Tuesday. The state government spokesperson further said people of Lakhimpur have "shown the mirror" to the opposition, which was out on a campaign to "divide society for vote bank".
"Not only in Lakhimpur, people of the entire state are satisfied with quick decisions of the Yogi Adityanath government on the Lakhimpur incident," he claimed. "This was proved by the fact that the leaders of the opposition parties, who claimed to have gathered a crowd of 50,000, could not mobilise even 1,000 people," he said.
"Not only this, the opposition unity on the vote bank politics on farmers collapsed when Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who shed crocodile tears, was not even given a chance to speak from the stage," the spokesperson said. (PTI)
Farmers' supporters and activists held a protest with candles and placards against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Candle marches were held all over Punjab to pay tribute to the victims of the violence in UP's Lakhimpur Kheri.
Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was in Jalandhar to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Rampur Khera Sahib, spoke about justice for Lakhimpur Kheri victims. He demanded immediate removal of Union minister Ajay Mishra from Cabinet for fair probe.
Randhawa added that Mishra should tender an apology for his irresponsible statement in which he allegedly threatened farmers. He said that said atrocities being inflicted upon farmers nowadays will not be tolerated at any cost.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday targeted BJP leaders for comparing a Dalit man's killing in the state's Hanumangarh with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, saying they are "foolish" and lack "sense" on how to react to an incident.
On October 7, a man was beaten to death in Prempura town of Hanumangarh over his alleged love affair. Police have so far arrested seven people. Gehlot said he himself condemns such incidents and took prompt action, after which the accused were apprehended.
When asked that Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra has not been sacked after the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, Gehlot said that's why the Congress is agitating continuously. "People were killed in broad daylight. We saw people die in riots. We heard that people are killed in police encounters but we haven't seen such deaths. Is the Centre, prime minister or the chief minister not aware about it?" Gehlot asked. (PTI)
Senior prosecution officer SP Yadav said two people, Ashish Mishra's friend Ankit Das and Latif, have moved applications for surrender at the CJM court.
Police in Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday arrested one more person in connection with the violence and produced him in a court, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody.
Senior prosecution officer SP Yadav said they have sought 14-day police custody of Shekhar Bharti and the hearing in this regard will take place on Wednesday. He was sent to 14-day judicial custody, the officer said.
With Bharti's arrest, police so was have arrested four people. (PTI)
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra project themselves as champions of Dalit rights but why are they silent on atrocities against scheduled castes in Rajasthan and other states?"
He wondered why the leaders from various political parties, who went on 'political tourism' in Uttar Pradesh in the wake of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, do not visit the Congress-ruled states when incidents of atrocities against Dalits are reported from these states. (PTI)
Ashish Mishra's friend Ankit Das, whose name had come up in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri case, Tuesday filed a surrender application in the Chief Judicial Magistrate court, according to ANI. The court will seek a report from the concerned police station.
The name of Ankit Das, a nephew of the former Rajya Sabha MP who died in 2017, came to light in connection with the case a few days ago when a video clip showed a man with head injuries claiming to have been in one of the vehicles that hit the group of farm protesters in Lakhimpur Kheri last Sunday.
RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary was on Tuesday stopped briefly or about 45 minutes at the Bareilly airport, according to Additional District Magistrate Mahendra Kumar Singh. According to PTI, he was told not to take his supporters to Lakhimpur Kheri for the 'antim ardas' of the farmers killed in the violence there.
Following which, the RLD workers sat on a dharna outside the airport and tried to block the road but were pacified by police and officials.
Chaudhary was allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri on the condition that he could go only with his security personnel, the officer said.
Priyanka Gandhi interacted with farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri, where the ‘antim ardas’ (last prayers) of the farmers killed in the October 3 violence is being held.
Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, has been taken to the Crime Branch office in Lakhimpur Kheri for interrogation in connection with the October 3 violence, PTI is reporting. Ashish on Monday was granted three-day police remand.
A delegation of Congress leaders is expected to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday and present a memorandum of facts on the Lakhimpuri Kheri violence, reports news agency PTI. The delegation will include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leaders A K Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal.
The Congress has been demanding the resignation of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, whose son allegedly ran over the farmers in Lakhimpur on October 3.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has arrived in Tikonia, where she paid her respects to the deceased farmers and journalist Raman Kashyap. Here are some PTI pictures of Gandhi at Lucknow airport, en route Lakhimpur Kheri.
The last remains of the victims of the October 3 violence have been kept on the stage in Tikonia, where farmers are observing 'Shaheed Kisan Diwas' (Martyred Farmers’ Day).
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has reached Tikonia, where the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will observe ‘Shaheed Kisan Diwas’ (Martyred Farmers’ Day). Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary are expected to arrive shortly.
The BJP has unleashed a governance of terror in the country, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the party is not only trying to silence its critics but crushing them to death, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) president Raju Shetti said on Monday.
The Lakhimpur Kheri incident is shocking, he said. “Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish runs a jeep over the farmers and crushes them to death. What can be more brutal? What we witness is the governance of terror under BJP rule in the country.” Read more
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra observed "maun vrat" (pledge of silence) and staged a sit-in in Lucknow for over three hours on Monday reiterating her party’s demand to sack Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra. She was accompanied by former Congress MPs such as Pramod Tiwari, PL Punia and Zafar Ali Naqvi, and state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu at the protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the General Post Office.
Congress leaders and workers observed similar protests in every Uttar Pradesh district and also other parts of India.
Public transport was affected in Mumbai on Monday as BEST buses as well as autorickshaws and taxis kept off the roads till 4 pm. Traffic on roads was very light. The suburban train services were strained with most office-goers facing difficulties in reaching government and private offices, which were largely unaffected by the bandh call.
Shiv Sena unions and cadre ensured commercial establishments complied with the bandh in Mumbai. Some shops opened up late in the evening after the bandh ended at 4 pm. More than 200 people were detained under the Maharashtra Police Act. Read more
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will observe ‘Shaheed Kisan Diwas’ (Martyred Farmers’ Day) on Tuesday to honour the four farmers killed in the October 3 violence. The SMK has appealed to farmers’ organisations across the country to organise prayer ceremonies. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 am on Tuesday at the Sahebjada Inter College. Thousands of farmers are expected to turn up for the event. Read more here