Kochi: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the Uttar Pradesh police delaying the arrest of a Union minister’s son Ashish Misra the main accused of ramming his vehicle into the protesting farmers killing four farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in UP.
The UP government informed the court that Ashish Misra had sought more time to appear before the police for questioning and the government had given him time till 11 am on Saturday.
It said that an arrest warrant will be issued if he failed to appear on Saturday.
The Supreme Court expressed concern on the matter and postponed the case for further hearing on October 20. The Supreme Court bench said that the UP government had the initiative of taking action on the matter. The Apex Court directed the chief cop of the state to ensure that the evidence is not destroyed. Ashish Misra failed to turn up before the police probing his alleged involvement in the run over case today morning. A notice was pasted at his residence by the police in this regard. Later, police claimed that the accused had sought more time to surrender.
Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports about Ashish escaping to Nepal as the Lakhimpur shared its border with Nepal. A large contingent of police have been deployed to trace the accused. The matter has tarnished the image of the Modi government at the centre. There is tremendous pressure on the government seeking the dismissal of Ajay Misra. Four farmers, four BJP workers including the driver of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra and a local journalist had died in the Lakhimpur Kheri clashes that erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
