SC Demands UP Govt. To File Lakhimpur Kheri Incident’s Status Report by 8th October, Two Accused Arrested

Highlights:

• Outcome of hearing of the suo motu case of Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday
• Panel of three judges spearheaded by the Honourable CJI of India, N.V. Ramana to preside over the case
• First arrests have been made in the case – Ashish Pandey and Lav Kush have been arrested by the police

“We need to know who are the accused against whom you have registered FIR and whether you have arrested them or not,” – SC to UP Govt. on The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre of 3^rd October that killed 8 individuals, reportedly, including four farmers.

Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, and Union Minister, Ajay Kumar Mishra were on an official visit to Banbirpur, when one of their SUVs allegedly ran over the protestors. Bystanders at the incident claim that the car was being driven by Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra.

A fierce battle, followed up, between the farmers and the BJP workers, and one of the cars was ignited by the infuriated mass. Subsequently, internet services were curtailed in the region, and politicians like Congress leaders, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Navjot Sidhu, were refrained from entering the region.

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The Supreme Court steps in and instructs the UP Govt. to carry out a  thorough investigation of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Thursday. A judicial panel is presiding over the case. It incorporates the Honourable Chief Justice of India, N.V.Ramana, along with Justice Surya Kant (present Judge of the Supreme Court and former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court) and Hima Kohli, (present Supreme Court Judge and former Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court).

Retired Allahabad High Court Justice, Pradeep Kumar Srivastava will be probing the incident as a single member enquiry commission, headquartered at Lakhimpur Kheri. The SC also instructed the State Government to provide all requisite medical facilities to the mother of one of the victim’s, Lovepreet Singh, on account of her being in a critical condition due to shock.

Key advancements in the case disclose that the first arrests have been made. Reports coming in from the UP administration unveil that Lav Kush and Ashish Pandey, who were a part of the SUV duo that rammed into the farmers, have been taken in by the UP Police.  

Their names, however, were not mentioned in the initial FIR lodged in the context of the case. No arrests for the prime accused in this case, Ashish Mishra, have been made so far.