Charges framed against Ashish Mishra, 13 others in Lakhimpur violence case

The court of additional district judge (ADJ I) on Tuesday framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 13 others in connection with the October 2021 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Tikunia in which four farmers were killed.

Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister of state (home) Ajay Kumar Mishra, is the main accused in the case.

District government counsel (criminal), Arvind Tripathi, said: “The ADJ-I court framed charges against all the 14 accused in FIR number 219 lodged in connection with the Tikunia violence. All of them, barring one Virendra Shukla, who is on bail, were produced in court on Tuesday through video conferencing and the charges against them were communicated.”

The court fixed December 16 as the next date for the prosecution to produce evidences against the accused, he said.

Briefing media persons, the DGC said: “Charges against 13 of the 14 accused – Ashish Mishra, Ankit Das, Nandan Singh Bisht, Satya Prakash Tripathi, Latif alias Kale, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullhas Kumar alias Mohit Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara were framed under sections 147 (for rioting), 148 (for rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (for offence committed in prosecution of common object), 307 (for attempt to murder), 326 (for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 302 (for murder), 427 (for mischief causing damage), 120B (for criminal conspiracy) of the IPC as well as Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act.”

He said the court also framed charges under Section 30 (violation of conditions of arms license or arms rules) of the Arms Act against Ashish Mishra, Ankit Das, Satya Prakash Tripathi and Latif alias Kale, Section 5/27 of the Arms Act against Nandan Singh Bisht and Section 3/25 of the Arms Act against Sumit Jaiswal. Charges under Section 201 (for causing disappearance of evidences) of the IPC were framed against the 14th accused Virendra Shukla, who is on bail, added the DGC.

On October 3, 2021, violence had erupted in Tikunia kotwali area amid the agitation of farmers when four of them and a journalist were allegedly crushed to death by speeding vehicles of the motorcade of the minister’s son. In the ensuing violence, three more persons, including two BJP workers and a driver, were lynched to death by the agitated farmers. Two FIRs were lodged by a farmer and Sumit Jaiswal at the Tikunia kotwali in this connection.