Lakhimpur violence: Eight people, including four farmers, died in the incident
Ashish Mishra, accused of running over farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, will appear before the police today, said his father and Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra. He skipped the summons yesterday due to health reasons, said his fatherHere are the top 10 developments in this big story:
Union Minister Ajay Mishra, who in an interview to NDTV confirmed that the vehicle that ran over farmers belonged to him, has maintained that neither he nor his son was present at the spot when the incident happened. Amid clamour for his resignation, Mr Mishra met Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this week. Top government sources have ruled out his resignation.
Mr Mishra said his son, Ashish, having skipped a first summons, will appear before the police today. The minister maintained that his son is innocent. He cited son's ill health as the reason for giving the summons a skip.
Ashish Mishra has been named in an FIR filed by the farmers who have demanded strict action against him. The FIR says that he drove into the gathering of slogan-shouting farmers amid a peaceful black flag protest. Eight people, including four farmers, died in the incident.
Two people - Luv Kush and Ashish Pandey - were arrested on Thursday as the case reached the Supreme Court. They were reportedly in the same vehicle that ran over a journalist and farmers, the police said.
Ruling out any action in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident under any pressure, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stressed that his government will "not arrest anyone on allegations". Attacking opposition leaders rushing to meet the affected families in the incident, the Chief Minister said, "They are no goodwill messengers."
Echoing the Chief Minister, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that those doing "political tourism" in Uttar Pradesh over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident is unfortunate. "I think some people do not believe in the judicial process. Those who are doing political tourism in Uttar Pradesh over the Lakhimpur incident is unfortunate," said Mr Thakur.
Law must take its course against "whoever is involved", the Supreme Court reminded the Uttar Pradesh government over the Lakhimpur violence amid countrywide outrage. "We are not satisfied with the action so far," the court said. "What is the message that you are sending? Even in normal circumstances... will the police not go immediately and arrest the accused. Things have not proceeded the way they should have. It appears to be only words and not actions," Chief Justice NV Ramana said in a sharp rebuke.
Not enough has been done by the authorities, senior lawyer Harish Salve, representing the Uttar Pradesh government over a PIL on the Lakhimpur Kheri deaths, has told the Supreme Court, as the state and its police force face questions over their handling of the incident.
Pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets on every issue, Azad Samaj Party chief and Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday urged him to talk to farmers, go to Lakhimpur Kheri and meet family members of slain farmers. Mr Azad said he will gherao the residence of PM Modi if the culprits of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are not arrested within seven days.
The Congress has said it will take out a "Kisan Nyay" rally in PM Modi's constituency of Varanasi on Sunday. The rally will be addressed by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, says the party poster. The poster also mentions the demands of the party, including the dismissal of Ajay Kumar Mishra, the arrest of the perpetrators behind the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that erupted during a farmers' protest and also a repeal of three contentious agriculture laws of the centre.
