Lakhimpur violence: Families of victims challenge bail to accused Ashish Mishra in Supreme Court

Days after the Lakhimpur Kheri violence accused Ashish Mishra walked out of the jail, the families of victims have challenged the bail granted to union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son, news agency ANI reported.

The kin of victims have sought cancellation of the bail granted to Ashish Mishra by the Allahabad high court for the October 3 violence in which eight people, including four protesting farmers, were allegedly mowed down by an SUV allegedly owned by the minister’s son.

According to online portal Bar and Bench, the plea, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, mentions that the family members were approaching the court as the government of Uttar Pradesh has failed to appeal against the court’s order regarding the bail.

Three days ago, Hindustan Times reported that two lawyers CS Panda and Shiv Kumar Tripathi had moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s order granting bail to Mishra.

The bail granted during the ongoing election season had drawn flak from the opposition parties, who said, the move was aimed at leveraging “Brahmin votes”.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief OP Rajbhar had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party for having a personal interest in the matter. He had added the bail was granted to the minister’s son as the BJP wanted to send a message to the Brahmin community that this bail was the result of their efforts.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had also upped his ante against the BJP, saying it failed to ensure strict punishment to the culprits of the Lakhimpur violence.

“Government should have ensured strict punishment, but it failed. The world has witnessed the incident that took place in Lakhimpur Kheri. Everyone is well aware of the fact that BJP was responsible for the death of the farmers,” Yadav had said in Bijnor.