Ashish Mishra had been in jail since October after the Lakhimpur Kheri incident
While granting bail to Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni's son Ashish Mishra in the case involving the killing of farmers at Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri last year, the high court questioned the charges against him and rejected the police probe.
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Ashish Mishra's alleged role in the killing of farmers protesting at Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 snowballed into a huge controversy in election season, more so because his father is the Union Minister of State for Home in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Ashish Mishra is accused of driving the Mahindra Thar SUV that ran over four farmers and a journalist at Lakhimpur Kheri during a protest march against three controversial farm laws. He was arrested days later.
Videos that triggered anger and shock showed an SUV ramming farmers and crushing them without breaking speed. Eight people were killed at Lakhimpur Kheri that day. After the farmers were run over, violence broke out in which three more, including two BJP workers, were killed.
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday raised questions about some of the charges listed by the police against Ashish Mishra, including firing at protesters. "Considering the facts and circumstances of the case in toto, it is evident that as per the FIR, the role of firing was assigned to the applicant (Ashish Mishra) for killing the protesters, but during the course of investigation, no such firearm injuries were found either on the body of any of the deceased or on the body of any injured person," the court said.
The court said Ashish Mishra is accused of inciting the SUV driver to run over farmers. "Thereafter, the prosecution alleged that the applicant provoked the driver of the vehicle for crushing the protesters, however, the driver along with two others, who were in the vehicle, had been killed by the protesters."
Ashish Mishra, the court said, appeared before the Investigating officer when he was summoned and a charge sheet has already been filed. "In such circumstances, this Court is of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail," said the high court.
The high court said it "could not shut its eyes to the killing of three persons in the Thar SUV, including the driver, who were killed by the protesters". Photographs "clearly revealed the brutality of the protesters", the court said, naming those killed as Hariom Mishra, Shubham Mishra and Shyam Sunder.
Stating that only four accused had been charged, the court said organisers of the protest must help investigators with giving details of others seen beating up the BJP workers.
Bail for Ashish Mishra has sparked strong political reactions with the opposition reviving allegations that the ruling BJP is going all out to protect its own. Priyanka Gandhi raised it at a rally and asked: "Why has the minister not been sacked?"
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra questioned how Ashish Mishra qualified for bail. "3 basic principles of bail are that accused should NOT be able to: 1. Intimidate witnesses 2. Destroy evidence 3. Be flight risk. How does Ashish Mishra satisfy bail condition 1? Sitting minister's son, arrested only after 3 days, in election season?" she tweeted.
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