During the interrogation, Ashish Mishra could not verify various points regarding his whereabouts at the time of the incident on the day of the incident, said deputy inspector general Upendra Agarwal leading the SIT.
The son of union minister Ajay Mishra, the main accused of Lakhimpur Kheri violence, Ashish Mishra was arrested on Saturday after hours of questioning by the Special Investigation Team. The arrest was confirmed by the deputy inspector general Upendra Agarwal who heads the SIT. A day after staying away from questioning, Ashish Mishra appeared before the investigating team on Saturday morning. The questioning continued for hours as the special investigation team prepared over a dozen questions from the union minister’s son. Towards the evening, unconfirmed reports claimed that he had been arrested but the confirmation came only Saturday night.
While Ashish was facing questioning, his father Ajay Mishra Teni was accompanying a group of lawyers, reports said.
“He was arrested after failing to co-operate in the interrogation. He could not inform or verify various points regarding his location at the time of the incident on the day of the incident. And we will try to get information on receipt of the police remand, ”said Upendra Agarwal.
Following the arrest of two of his aides, police passed a notice on the Union minister’s residence asking his son to appear before the inquiry committee. On Friday, Ashish did not appear before the committee and his father said he was unwell; he would be present on Saturday.
Ashish was named in the FIR as the main accused of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which four farmers were crushed by a vehicle in which Ashish was allegedly present. Four others were killed in the violence that began after the incident last Sunday in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri.
The FIR said he managed to get out of that overturned car and open fire. A Union minister has denied his son’s involvement in the incident and said earlier that it was his car but his son was not present. He also alleged that the driver of the car had lost balance as stones were pelted on the car.
Prior to the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, the Lakhimpur Kheri has become a major political issue with the Congress taking to the streets over this issue. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi visited Lakhimpur Kheri earlier this week. The party has asked its heads of state / UT unit to observe ‘maun vrat’ on Monday in protest of Lakhimpur violence. The dismissal of the Union minister is a requirement of Congress.
UP Police took action after being raped by the Supreme Court which on Thursday asked the government how many arrests it has made so far regarding the case, as four days have already passed between the incident and the Supreme Court is addressing the case. While the police arrested two of Ashish Mishra’s aides and demanded Mishra to appear for questioning, the apex court on Friday said it was not satisfied with the investigation conducted by Uttar Pradesh Police.
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