The decision of the Supreme Court on Wednesday to grant interim bail to Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, hasn’t gone down well with Kirti Kisan Union, which termed it “unfortunate”.
Five people – four farmers and a journalist – were killed in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3, 2021, when a car – allegedly driven by Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra – ran over a group of farmers who were returning after protests against the Centre’s now-repealed three farm laws.
KirtiKisan Union members – president Nirbhai Singh Dhudike, vice-president Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala, general secretary Satbir Singh Sultani, press secretary Jatinder Singh Chhina and Raminder Singh Patiala – called for cancelling the bail granted to Ashish Mishra.
“Kirti Kisan Union has decided to burn the effigy of Ashish Mishra at the block level on January 26 to give vent to its anger,” said Raminder Singh Patiala.
Jatinder Singh Chhina said that although many conditions have been laid down in the court’s decision while granting interim bail to Ashish Mishra, the question remains whether the courts will adopt the same criteria for other prisoners who have been under detention for long without bail, or have completed their sentences. The farmer leader said that this development has shown that court decisions become biased in the case of the powerful and rich.
