The Uttar Pradesh Police has acquitted the state’s former Union Home Minister Ajay Kumar ‘Tini’ Mishra in the case of allegedly threatening a witness in the 2021 Lakhimpur violence case where his son is facing trial for mowing down farmers who were protesting against the now repealed farm laws.
In a status report submitted to the Supreme Court to hear the bail application filed by former minister Ashish Mishra’s son, the state police said it had completed investigation into a complaint filed by a witness who had allegedly received a threat last year in connection with the trial in the larger case. The police named four people, including the former minister and his son, as defendants.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant recorded the case report and allowed the victim concerned to file a reply.
Based on forensic examination of an audio clip produced by victim Baljit Singh, the state filed a chargesheet against a person identified as Amandeep Singh on May 6. Giving a clear message to the other three accused, the case report said, “Further investigation has revealed that the accused Ajay Mishra, Ashish Mishra and Virendra Kumar Mishra are not involved in the crime in question.”
The police submitted a final investigation report before the trial court on July 9 against the three accused and dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code against Amandeep Singh, who alone will face trial in the witness intimidation case.
Additional Advocate General (AAG) Sharan Dev Singh Thakur submitted the status report to the court. He stated that the police submitted the final report before the competent court, which has since considered facing the only accused on July 13, and the matter is still awaiting trial.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Mishra, said the charge sheet made it clear that his client had no role behind the alleged threat. This case has gained importance as Mishra is currently on bail in the main trial pending before the Lakhimpur Khiri court. In the bail order issued in January 2023, one of the conditions required him and his family not to threaten or influence witnesses or victims in the case directly or indirectly.
The progress report further noted that in the trial of the main case, 61 witnesses out of 131 are still to be examined. A total of eight people were killed in the violence in Lakhimpur Khiri, including four farmers and one journalist. Ashish Mishra was arrested within six days of the incident. According to the police charge sheet, the killings were planned in advance when Ashish Mishra arrived in a Mahindra Thar SUV with a convoy of 3-4 vehicles at the site where the farmers were protesting. The protesting farmers, enraged by the act, allegedly pulled three occupants out of the car and lynched them.
The police registered a separate criminal case in this regard against four farmers who were also released on bail. In this case, 29 witnesses were presented while nine have yet to be examined.
