Lakhimpur Kheri incident: Union Minister’s son Ashish Misra arrested

Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish was arrested on Saturday night after being questioned for over 12 hours in Lakhimpur Kheri.. "He will be in judicial custody for the time being. He was produced before the judicial magistrate and the police had demanded three-day custody, to which we objected. The matter will be heard on October 11 and it will be decided whether Mishra will be sent to police custody," Ashish Mishra's lawyer Awadesh Singh told reporters on Saturday, as reported by a news agency. An FIR was registered in this regard against Ashish Mishra at the Tikunia police station under Sections 302, 304-A, 120-B, 147, 279 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Saharanpur, Upendra Agarwal told reporters, "Ashish Misra, son of MoS (Home) Ajay Misra Teni, has been arrested as he was not cooperating during the interrogation and didn't answer a few questions. He will be produced before the court." The probe was later handed over to the Crime Branch, which issued summons to Ashish Misra in connection with the case. The UP government also declared that a single-member committee comprising a retired High Court judge would probe the matter.

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 the basis of allegations". Attacking opposition leaders rushing to meet the affected families in the incident, the Chief Minister said, "They are no goodwill messengers."The working president of NDA ally Apna Dal (S), Ashish Patel, welcomed the arrest of Ashish Misra. "We now have hope that the families of deceased farmers will get justice," Patel said.