Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Union Minister’s Son Ashish Mehra Surrenders after SC cancels his Bail. 

The Lakhimpur Kheri Violence was considered highly controversial and was an attempt to silence the farmers involved in a year-long protest over the farm laws. 

After the Supreme Court canceled his bail, Ashish Mishra, the prime suspect in the Lakhimpur Kheri Case, surrendered at the district jail on Sunday. The son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra is considered the prime suspect in the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence that led to the death of eight people. The jail superintendent PP Singh confirmed that after SC’s order, Ashish Mishra is back in jail and will be held in a separate cell for security reasons. 

Last week, on April 18th, a three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana, ordered Ajay Mishra to surrender within a week. The bench, which included justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, noted that the victims were denied an adequate hearing, and there was a ‘hurry’ to shut the case. The Allahabad High court highly relied on the FIR to monitor the probe into the violence. The justices noted that the victims’ families had “unbridled” rights to participate in the proceedings, the court didn’t provide them with.  

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the victim’s kins, requested in their petition to transfer the case to a different division. The court denied the petition stating that it was inappropriate. The SC also asked the Allahabad High Court to reconsider the matter and expected the state government to challenge the HC’s bail applications. However, the Uttar Pradesh Government claimed that it did not do so as they considered that Mishra wasn’t a ‘threat.’ 

On October 3, 2021, four farmers and a journalist were killed after an SUV car that allegedly belonged to Mishra ran over them. Subsequent violence led to the death of two political leaders and a driver. Later, Ajay Mishra was arrested by police in connection with the deaths. However, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court granted bail to him on February 10. The court opined that the case was of ‘accident by hitting a vehicle,’ and there is no substantial evidence that the accused did it on purpose. 

After this incident, the victim’s families moved to the Supreme Court, which pleaded that HC didn’t provide them sufficient opportunity to oppose Mishra’s bail. The violence triggered outrage among opposition parties and the public, who were already agitated by the Modi Government’s three farmers’ laws. 

Published By – Chirag Agrawal

Edited By – Dhannyaa Menon