Lakhimpur Violence: HC Slams BJP Min Over 'Threats to Farmers,' Denies Bail to 4

Ajay Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, is the prime accused in the violence, which led to the death of 4 farmers.

MoS Ajay Mishra Teni.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Allahabad High Court on Monday, 9 May, rejected the bail of four prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, observing that the incident might not have occurred if Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni had not threatened the protesting farmers just days before.

Ajay Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, is the prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which led to the deaths of four farmers protesting against the BJP government's farm ordinances in October 2021. Mishra was accused of running over the farmers and a journalist.

"Political persons should make public utterances in decent language. They are required to conduct themselves befitting status and dignity of office. Law makers cannot be seen as law violators," a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh stated, NDTV reported.

Further, the high court hailed the findings of the Special Investigation Team, which it said conducted the inquiry in a 'fair' manner and noted that the charge sheet revealed 'overwhelming' evidence against all the accused.

The charge sheet reportedly termed the offence "cruel, diabolic, brutal, barbaric, depraved, gruesome and inhumane," LiveLaw reported.

Days ahead of the horrific incident, the BJP minister had allegedly threatened to "fix farmers in two minutes" if they didn't end their agitation against the government.

(With inputs from NDTV and LiveLaw.)