Lakhmipur Kheri: Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra, is seen in a video charging at media members and hurling abuses when they posed questions on his son’s involvement in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
There have been growing demands against Ajay Mishra to resign from his position as his jailed son Ashish Mishra has been accused of running over farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri.
Mr Mishra, the Union Minister of State for Home, is also seen pouncing on another reporter and grabbing his mic. “Mic band karo be (shut the mic),” he says.
The video also shows him use an expletive and calling reporters “chor (thieves)”.
The incident occurred when the minister was at an inauguration event of an oxygen plant in Lakhimpur Kheri, a day after he visited his son in jail.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, has filed an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to include new sections against the 13 accused to make their offence punishable under attempt to murder charges.
Vidhyaram Diwakar, the SIT investigating officer, filed the application last week in the CJM’s court for adding new sections in the warrant, replacing sections 279, 338 and 304A of the IPC.
In his application, the investigating officer pointed out that the incident was well-planned and a deliberate act, and not of negligence or callousness.
The SIT has so far arrested Ashish Mishra, Luvkush, Ashish Pandey, Shekhar Bharti, Ankit Das, Latif, Sishupal, Nandan Singh, Satyam Tripathi, Sumit Jaiswal, Dharmendra Banjara, Rinku Rana and Ullas Trivedi. They are lodged in the Lakhimpur Kheri district jail.
The Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) has refused to give in to pressure and remove Ajay Mishra saying that a father shouldn’t be acted against for his son’s actions.
On October 3, eight people, including four protesting farmers, died after being mowed down by a SUV belonging to Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra. A local journalist was also killed in the violence.
(With agency inputs)