Allahabad: Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish — who is the main accused in the killing of protesting farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri last year — has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench. A detailed order is yet to come.
Ashish Mishra had allegedly ran over four farmers and a journalist at Lakhimpur Kheri with his SUV during a protest march against the Centre’s three controversial farm laws. He was put under arrest a few days later.
Videos that created a sensation across the country showed an SUV ramming farmers and crushing them without breaking speed. A total of eight people were killed at Lakhimpur Kheri on that fateful day. Following the incident, violence broke out in which three more, including two BJP workers, lost their lives.
It may be recalled that courts in Lakhimpur Kheri had already rejected bail for Ashish Mishra in the past.
The court’s order comes in the middle of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Lakhimpur will go for vote in the fourth round of seven-phase polls.