Tag: Farmers deaths

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: How long can we keep Ashish Mishra in custody, asks Supreme Court

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government as to how long Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, can be kept in custody, and directed the sessions court to specify the tentative time schedule for concluding the trial in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri.

    The top court also asked the Uttar Pradesh government, which opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra terming the offence as “very grave”, to file an affidavit with regard to the status of the second case lodged over the killing of three occupants of the SUV, which allegedly mowed down the farmers.

    A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Krishna Murari said it needs to balance the interest of all the parties including the accused, the victims and society at large.

    “Question is how long can we keep him (Ashish Mishra) in custody. We have to see that the accused, who is inside the jail for over one year, also has rights. Now the charge sheet has been filed and charges have been framed. The victims and witnesses also have their rights. Even society also has interest in the case. Now, we have to balance all the rights in the case,” it said.

    The bench also asked the Additional District and Sessions judge hearing the second case, related to the killing of the occupants of the car, to consider the desirability of framing charges.

    It asked the Registrar (judicial) of the apex court to write to the Additional Sessions Judge, Lakhimpur Kheri, to indicate the time schedule for concluding the trial in the case, keeping in mind other pending cases and already prioritised cases with him.

    “He has been inside the jail on our orders. We cannot keep him indefinitely but the question is at what stage should we consider his bail,” the bench told Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.

    Prashad said the charges against him are “very grave” and the charge sheet was filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the apex court after an elaborate probe.

    The bench pointed out since there are 212 witnesses the trial is going to take time.

    Prashad said Mishra’s discharge application has been dismissed, the charges have been framed by the sessions court and the trial is to commence from December 16.

    “We have given protection to all the key witnesses in the case,” she said.

    The bench said it was a good step and the state should also provide security to any other vulnerable witnesses in the case, if they come forward during the trial.

    At the outset, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ashish Mishra, said at the time of the incident, where an SUV mowed down the protesting farmers, the accused was not on the spot but present at a wrestling ground where senior UP ministers were to come.

    “There are photographs of him at the wrestling ground, mobile phone locations of the time when the incident has taken place. He was not in the driving seat and another co-accused was seen coming out of the vehicle,” he said.

    The bench said it will not go into the merits of the case and it is for the trial court to see Mishra’s defence of alibi and whether it was a case of section 304 (culpable homicide) or 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.

    Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the victims, said it is a settled principle that when the trial court and the high court have denied bail, the top court will not interfere with the concurrent decisions.

    The bench told Dave, “This will be a very dangerous proposition. Every day in and out we are granting bail to those who have been denied bail by the high court or the trial court. You see, problem is we have to balance the rights of everyone. At what stage we should intervene is the question. There are over 200 witnesses and trial is going to take time. Trial cannot happen on day to day basis. We only want that fair trial should not be compromised and witnesses or victims can depose freely, without any fear or coercion,” the bench said.

    Dave said the accused are very influential people and there are hundreds of ways to threaten the witnesses or victim families.

    The bench has posted the matter for next hearing on January 11.

    On December 6, the trial court had framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 12 others for murder, criminal conspiracy and related offences in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri, paving the way for the start of the trial.

    A total of 13 accused, including Ashish Mishra, have been charged under IPC sections 147 and 148 related to rioting, 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (mischief) and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), and section 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

    The other 12 accused are Ankit Das, Nandan Singh Bisht, Latif Kale, Satyam alias Satya Prakash Tripathi, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullas Kumar alias Mohit Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara.

    All of them are in jail.

    On October 3, 2021, eight people were killed in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district during violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against the then Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.

    Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV, in which Ashish Mishra was seated, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police FIR.

    Following the incident, the driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers.

    A journalist also died in the violence.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government as to how long Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, can be kept in custody, and directed the sessions court to specify the tentative time schedule for concluding the trial in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri.

    The top court also asked the Uttar Pradesh government, which opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra terming the offence as “very grave”, to file an affidavit with regard to the status of the second case lodged over the killing of three occupants of the SUV, which allegedly mowed down the farmers.

    A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Krishna Murari said it needs to balance the interest of all the parties including the accused, the victims and society at large.

    “Question is how long can we keep him (Ashish Mishra) in custody. We have to see that the accused, who is inside the jail for over one year, also has rights. Now the charge sheet has been filed and charges have been framed. The victims and witnesses also have their rights. Even society also has interest in the case. Now, we have to balance all the rights in the case,” it said.

    The bench also asked the Additional District and Sessions judge hearing the second case, related to the killing of the occupants of the car, to consider the desirability of framing charges.

    It asked the Registrar (judicial) of the apex court to write to the Additional Sessions Judge, Lakhimpur Kheri, to indicate the time schedule for concluding the trial in the case, keeping in mind other pending cases and already prioritised cases with him.

    “He has been inside the jail on our orders. We cannot keep him indefinitely but the question is at what stage should we consider his bail,” the bench told Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.

    Prashad said the charges against him are “very grave” and the charge sheet was filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the apex court after an elaborate probe.

    The bench pointed out since there are 212 witnesses the trial is going to take time.

    Prashad said Mishra’s discharge application has been dismissed, the charges have been framed by the sessions court and the trial is to commence from December 16.

    “We have given protection to all the key witnesses in the case,” she said.

    The bench said it was a good step and the state should also provide security to any other vulnerable witnesses in the case, if they come forward during the trial.

    At the outset, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ashish Mishra, said at the time of the incident, where an SUV mowed down the protesting farmers, the accused was not on the spot but present at a wrestling ground where senior UP ministers were to come.

    “There are photographs of him at the wrestling ground, mobile phone locations of the time when the incident has taken place. He was not in the driving seat and another co-accused was seen coming out of the vehicle,” he said.

    The bench said it will not go into the merits of the case and it is for the trial court to see Mishra’s defence of alibi and whether it was a case of section 304 (culpable homicide) or 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.

    Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the victims, said it is a settled principle that when the trial court and the high court have denied bail, the top court will not interfere with the concurrent decisions.

    The bench told Dave, “This will be a very dangerous proposition. Every day in and out we are granting bail to those who have been denied bail by the high court or the trial court. You see, problem is we have to balance the rights of everyone. At what stage we should intervene is the question. There are over 200 witnesses and trial is going to take time. Trial cannot happen on day to day basis. We only want that fair trial should not be compromised and witnesses or victims can depose freely, without any fear or coercion,” the bench said.

    Dave said the accused are very influential people and there are hundreds of ways to threaten the witnesses or victim families.

    The bench has posted the matter for next hearing on January 11.

    On December 6, the trial court had framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 12 others for murder, criminal conspiracy and related offences in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri, paving the way for the start of the trial.

    A total of 13 accused, including Ashish Mishra, have been charged under IPC sections 147 and 148 related to rioting, 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (mischief) and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), and section 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

    The other 12 accused are Ankit Das, Nandan Singh Bisht, Latif Kale, Satyam alias Satya Prakash Tripathi, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullas Kumar alias Mohit Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara.

    All of them are in jail.

    On October 3, 2021, eight people were killed in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district during violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against the then Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.

    Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV, in which Ashish Mishra was seated, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police FIR.

    Following the incident, the driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers.

    A journalist also died in the violence.

  • Lakhimpur violence: Ashish Mishra arrested after a prolonged 10-hour interrogation

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a late night development, Ashish Mishra, main accused of Lakhimpur violence case and son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, was arrested by the district police after a prolonged 10-hour questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of crime branch, headed by DIG Upendra Agarwal, in Lakhimpur on Saturday.

    Confirming the arrest, senior police authorities, who are part of the SIT, said that Ashish was taken into custody as he was not cooperating in the investigation and was not able to answer many questions satisfactorily.

    Moreover, the sources claimed that following the interrogation, the SIT recommended the district police to add some more sections of IPC in the FIR lodged against Ashish Mishra as they were not convinced enough with his side of the story about the violence which rocked the Terai district on last Sunday.

    As the interrogation of Ashish Mishra continued till late Saturday evening by the six-member SIT in the Lakhimpur crime branch office, he reportedly provided videos and affidavits of 10 persons to the police authorities to prove that he was not inside the vehicle that ploughed into the group of protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri last week.

    However, the police sources said that the evidence pointed towards his presence on the spot of violence on Sunday. Moreover, it was also claimed that Ashish Mishra himself was driving the Thar Mahindra SUV which ran over the group of protesting farmers.

    Police sources also confirmed that Ashish could not present satisfactory proof to show that he was not in the vehicle.

    Ashish Misra appeared before the Special investigation team of crime branch set up by Uttar Pradesh Police to probe into Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, on Saturday at around 10:40 am.

    His interrogation began soon after as the SIT had come prepared with a 40-question list to quiz Ashish over the violence which claimed eight lives including four farmers.

    The sources said that during his questioning, Ashish claimed his innocence by reiterating that he was not present at Tikunia, the site of the incident. He reportedly insisted that he was at a ‘dangal’ (wrestling competition) taking place at Banbirpur village, some 3-4 km away from Tikunia, when the violence broke out.

    However, the informed sources claimed that Ashish could not convince the probe team about his whereabouts at the time of incident.

    So far, the Lakhimpur police have arrested two persons – Luvkush and Ashish Pandey—said to be the close aides of Ashish Mishra, in connection with the violence.

    Ashish Mishra has been named as main accused in the FIR lodged by the farmers in connection with the Sunday violence. He along with 15-20 unidentified persons has been booked under sections pertaining to murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, etc. in the case.

    There was a huge crowd of local BJP workers at the office of the Lakhimpur police crime branch. They were shouting slogans in support of the Ashish Mishra claiming that he was innocent and was being framed in the violence case.

    Ashish Mishra appeared before the police authorities in response to the second summon notice pasted by the cops at his residence on Friday asking him to appear in connection with the violence that killed eight people. In fact, the notice was served on Ashish under Section 160 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) and he was asked to appear in person and present evidence that he is aware of the incident.

    Ashish was accompanied by his counsel Awadesh Singh and Lakhimpur Sadar MLA Yogesh Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mishra was taken to a room inside the crime branch office where police personnel investigating the matter began questioning him. His counsel accompanied him during the questioning.

    Ashish Mishra had failed to show up in response to the first summon notice of Thursday and missed his 10 am deadline for his appearance on Friday.

    Meanwhile, the farmer unions have stepped up the pressure for the arrest of Ashish Mishra releasing a calendar of protest in October if Ashish is not arrested in the violence case. They are also demanding the resignation of the Union Minister Ajay Mishra.

    While interacting with media persons on Saturday, Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesman Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said that no case should be registered against the farmers in connection with the killing of three BJP workers in Lakhimpur Kheri violence as the lynching was only a “reaction to the action”.

  • Lakhimpur violence case: Ashish Mishra arrested after a prolonged 11-hour interrogation

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a late night development, Ashish Mishra, main accused of Lakhimpur violence case and son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, was arrested by the district police after a prolonged 11-hour questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of crime branch, headed by DIG Upendra Agarwal, in Lakhimpur on Saturday.

    Confirming the arrest, senior police authorities, who are part of the SIT, said that Ashish was taken into custody as he was not cooperating in the investigation and was not able to answer many questions satisfactorily.

    Moreover, the sources claimed that following the interrogation, the SIT recommended the district police to add some more sections of IPC in the FIR lodged against Ashish Mishra as they were not convinced enough with his side of the story about the violence which rocked the Terai district on last Sunday.

    As the interrogation of Ashish Mishra continued till late Saturday evening by the six-member SIT in the Lakhimpur crime branch office, he reportedly provided videos and affidavits of 10 persons to the police authorities to prove that he was not inside the vehicle that ploughed into the group of protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri last week.

     Ashish Mishra (centre), accused in the Tikonia violence case.(Photo | PTI)

    However, the police sources said that the evidence pointed towards his presence on the spot of violence on Sunday. Moreover, it was also claimed that Ashish Mishra himself was driving the Thar Mahindra SUV which ran over the group of protesting farmers.

    Police sources also confirmed that Ashish could not present satisfactory proof to show that he was not in the vehicle.

    Ashish Misra appeared before the Special investigation team of crime branch set up by Uttar Pradesh Police to probe into Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, on Saturday at around 10:40 am.

    His interrogation began soon after as the SIT had come prepared with a 40-question list to quiz Ashish over the violence which claimed eight lives including four farmers.

    The sources said that during his questioning, Ashish claimed his innocence by reiterating that he was not present at Tikunia, the site of the incident. He reportedly insisted that he was at a ‘dangal’ (wrestling competition) taking place at Banbirpur village, some 3-4 km away from Tikunia, when the violence broke out.

    ​VIEW GALLERY | ‘Fascism’, ‘Jallianwala Bagh’, ‘Hitler’: Lakhimpur Kheri farmers’ killing leads to strong reactions by Opposition leaders

    However, the informed sources claimed that Ashish could not convince the probe team about his whereabouts at the time of incident.

    So far, the Lakhimpur police have arrested two persons – Luvkush and Ashish Pandey—said to be the close aides of Ashish Mishra, in connection with the violence.

    Ashish Mishra has been named as main accused in the FIR lodged by the farmers in connection with the Sunday violence. He along with 15-20 unidentified persons has been booked under sections pertaining to murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, etc. in the case.

    There was a huge crowd of local BJP workers at the office of the Lakhimpur police crime branch. They were shouting slogans in support of the Ashish Mishra claiming that he was innocent and was being framed in the violence case.

    Ashish Mishra appeared before the police authorities in response to the second summon notice pasted by the cops at his residence on Friday asking him to appear in connection with the violence that killed eight people. In fact, the notice was served on Ashish under Section 160 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) and he was asked to appear in person and present evidence that he is aware of the incident.

    Ashish was accompanied by his counsel Awadesh Singh and Lakhimpur Sadar MLA Yogesh Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mishra was taken to a room inside the crime branch office where police personnel investigating the matter began questioning him. His counsel accompanied him during the questioning.

    Ashish Mishra had failed to show up in response to the first summon notice of Thursday and missed his 10 am deadline for his appearance on Friday.

    Meanwhile, the farmer unions have stepped up the pressure for the arrest of Ashish Mishra releasing a calendar of protest in October if Ashish is not arrested in the violence case. They are also demanding the resignation of the Union Minister Ajay Mishra.

    While interacting with media persons on Saturday, Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesman Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said that no case should be registered against the farmers in connection with the killing of three BJP workers in Lakhimpur Kheri violence as the lynching was only a “reaction to the action”.

  • PM Modi should express grief in Parliament over death of 750 farmers during protests: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi should for once express grief in Parliament over the death of around 750 farmers during the months-long anti-farm law protests on Delhi’s borders, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.

    He slammed the BJP-led Centre over the minimum support price (MSP) issue, and alleged that the government’s assurance that the system would continue is “only on paper” and the farmers want it in reality.

    Participating in a discussion titled ‘Seeds of Wrath: Fears and Facts: How to address the farm crisis’, BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal countered Tikait alleging the protest against the three Central agri laws appeared to be politically motivated.

    At the conclave, Tikait said, “Farmers are protesting to get an appropriate procurement price for their crops. The government claims the MSP has been there, is there and shall remain in place but the farmers want that in reality and not just on papers.”

    “The protest by farmers has its entered 11th month. The government and the prime minister should for once speak in Parliament about the 750 farmers who have lost their lives during the protest,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Killing of BJP workers in Lakhimpur after car ran over farmers reaction to action says Rakesh Tikait

    The PM should express grief at the loss of the lives of farmers, said Tikait, who has been leading hundreds of BKU members and protestors at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border since November 2020.

    However, Agarwal said Prime Minister Modi always speaks about the farmers and has spoken about them in Parliament.

    “The protest has entered its 11th month but there has been confusion about it all the time. There could be misunderstandings about the laws, but those have been debated on various platforms. The issue even reached the Supreme Court,” the Lok Sabha MP from Meerut said.

    “I want to know just one point in the laws that they have an objection to. It (the protest) therefore appears to me not motivated by the interest of farmers but political agenda or political ambitions. The protest can be linked to some political parties,” Agarwal said.

    All discussions about the laws have taken place and the Narendra Modi government is sensitive towards the farming community with a proven track record since 2014, he added.

    To a question that MSP has not been a legal guarantee during previous governments, Tikait replied that is why those parties are not in power now.

    ALSO READ: Farmers say will burn PM Modi’s effigy on Dussehra

    “In 2011, a financial committee was set up with Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, as chairman. It had recommended to the Centre that a law should be enacted guaranteeing MSP,” the BKU leader claimed.

    “Today, Modi is betraying the country over something he had recommended,” he alleged.

    Agarwal, the BJP leader from western UP, referred to Rakesh Tikait’s father Mahendra Tikait, to highlight the woes of farmers and claimed the new laws have liberated them from mandis, allowing them to sell their crops anywhere.

    Tikait, however, insisted if Agarwal could define “anywhere”.

    Hundreds of farmers are encamped at Delhi’s borders points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to MSP for crops.

    The protests are led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers unions.

    The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogues with the farmers, has maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer.

  • Opposition parties demand JPC probe to ascertain details of farmer deaths during agitation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Shiromani Akali Dal, NCP, Shiv Sena and some other opposition parties, including the Left parties, have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe to ascertain the details of farmer deaths during the “Kisan Andolan” against three agriculture laws.

    In a letter to the speaker, leaders of various parties, including Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, NCP, BSP, JKNC, RLP, CPI and CPM, have urged his intervention in the matter. The letter came in the wake of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s statement that the Centre has no knowledge of farmer deaths.

    The Opposition leaders said the minister’s statement has hurt the sentiments of the farming community across the country and he should apologise as he has insulted the farmers. They said Tomar has stated in Parliament that the Centre does not have any record of the farmers who died during the ongoing Kisan Andolan at Delhi’s borders.

    The farmers have been protesting against three agriculture laws of the Centre and demanding their scrapping since November last year. Leaders of SAD and other parties are set to meet the president in this regard on Saturday morning.

    “It is shocking that the ‘annadaata’ was subjected to this insult, despite clear-cut recorded proof of hundreds of farmers being martyred during the Kisan Andolan. It is even more appalling that the agriculture minister has gone on record to say that neither a study has been conducted to verify the numbers of these farmer deaths nor a study to understand the apprehensions in the minds of farmers regarding the three farm laws,” the leaders said.

    They said this is a very serious lapse on the part of the minister and alleged that “he has, in fact, misled the nation”. “We urge you to ask the minister to apologise to the farming community for his intemperate remarks that have hurt their self-respect. We urge you to form a Joint Parliamentary Committee led by an Opposition member to probe the entire issue and ascertain details of the total number of lives lost in the ongoing Kisan Andolan and suggest ways and means to rehabilitate the victim families,” the Opposition leaders said.

    The JPC could also take feedback directly from farmers and their representatives about their reservations vis-a-vis the three agriculture laws and submit the same to the government for necessary action, they said in their letter.

    The leaders hoped that the insult meted out to farmers and their democratic protest is addressed through the speaker’s intervention, which will send out a clear signal that the temple of democracy stands with the “annadaata” and will not take any insult heaped on him.

    Among the signatories to the letter were Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD), Supriya Sule (NCP), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena), Danish Ali (BSP), Hanuman Beniwal (RLP), PR Natarajan (CPM), M Selvaraj (CPI) and Hasnain Masoodi (JKNC).