After a judge today denied his request to have the case dismissed, Ashish Mishra, the son of Minister of State Ajay Mishra, will go on trial for allegedly driving over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, last year. Charges will be drafted tomorrow, the court added.
During a protest march against three (now repealed) agricultural rules on October 3 of last year, Ashish Mishra is accused of operating a Mahindra Thar that struck four farmers and a journalist in Lakhimpur Kheri.
After the Supreme Court stepped in and ordered a probe after the police and administration were accused of moving slowly on the investigation, he was arrested only days later.
Earlier, the Lakhimpur Kheri violence investigation was being overseen by a committee that the Supreme Court had constituted, under the chairmanship of retired judge Rakesh Kumar Jain of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Yogi Adityanath, the state chief minister, and his administration came under fire when videos of a vehicle slamming farmers went viral.
