Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said that a fair investigation into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence was not possible till Union minister Ajay Mishra resigns, reported PTI.
Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra is one of the accused person in the October 3 violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed during a protest against Centre’s farm laws. Farmer organisations have alleged that a vehicle belonging to Ashish Mishra had run over these protestors.
Mishra has been charged with multiple offences, including murder and criminal conspiracy, in the case. The police have also arrested five more people who have been identified as Ashish Pandey, Luvkush, Shekhar Bharti, Ankit Das and Lateef.
On Thursday, Tikait alleged that the Union minister was influencing the Special Investigation Team’s inquiry into the violence.
“The red carpet arrest of the minister’s son who is the main accused in the incident has fuelled anger among the protesting farmers,” he added.
The police had summoned Ashish Mishra to appear before them for questioning on October 8, but he did not turn up. On the same day, the Supreme Court had said that it was not satisfied with the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh government in the investigation of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
A bench led by Chief Justice NV Ramana had also asked why the accused person had not been arrested. The next day, Mishra was arrested by a Special Investigation Team after over 11 hours of questioning.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday brought Mishra and Das to the spot where the October 3 violence happened to recreate the crime scene, reported NDTV.
Visuals filmed by journalists showed a police jeep driving at high speed and crushing dummies placed on the road.
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