Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra, has been arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri riots on Saturday. A day after the Supreme Court expressed concern with the state government’s actions in the case, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police Special Investigation Team (SIT) interrogated him for almost 12 hours.
“We are putting him into jail on grounds of non-cooperation and evasive responses,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Upendra Agarwal, the head of the SIT created to investigate the case.
A group of the Union Minister’s followers chanted slogans in support of his son, alleging a “plot against Ashish”, who they claimed was preparing to run for the Kheri Lok Sabha seat against Nighasan. They further stated that on October 3, when three SUVs allegedly moved down protesting farmers on the Tikonia-Banbirpur route, Ashish was not present.
The FIR against Ashish Mishra, on the other hand, accuses him of serious crimes such as murder and shooting. According to the report, he was in the left seat of Thar Mahindra, the first of three cars in a convoy that hit a group of farmers returning from a protest location, and he managed to flee after shooting rounds into the air. Angry protestors eventually set fire to the vehicle.