Indian Federal Minister's Son Granted Bail Four Months After Arrest Over Road Accident That Killed 8

Last October, violence erupted in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh state after four farmers and a journalist were mown down by a vehicle allegedly being driven by Ashish Mishra, son of Federal Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Misra Teni.

An Uttar Pradesh court has granted bail to Ashish Mishra, the son of Indian Federal Minister Ajay Misra Teni. The politician's son is the key suspect in an incident that took place in the Lakhimpur Kheri district and left eight people dead.

In his bail plea, Ashish Mishra argued that he was not in his car when the incident took place and was at a sports event in a nearby village.

Ashish was arrested on 9 October 2021 about a week after violence erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri district when a convoy of three vehicles drove through a crowd of farmers who were protesting against the now-repealed federal farm laws, in the village of Tikonia.

The incident occurred on a day when junior Home Affairs Minister (Ajay Misra Teni) and Uttar Pradesh's deputy state chief, Keshav Prasad Maurya, were due to visit the region.

After four protesting farmers were run over by the convoy, three others - the minister's driver and two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers - were beaten to death by the crowd in the ensuing violence.

The farmers alleged that the federal minister’s son (Ashish Mishra) was inside the car that had run over the four farmers. But he denied the allegations.

The Special Investigation Team inquiring into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence later said that there was a conspiracy to murder protesting farmers.

Opposition parties have been demanding the removal of Ajay Mishra Teni from his ministerial post to ensure a fair investigation.