UP Agrees To Appoint Ex-HC Judge To Monitor Lakhimpur Probe, SC Wants SIT Upgraded

Mumbai: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday agreed to Supreme Court’s suggestion to appoint a former High Court judge from outside UP to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight people were killed.

The state government has now requested the top court to suggest a name of a judge to oversee the probe.

Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the state to appoint a former high court judge and suggested the names of negligently affected Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Ranjit Singh oversee the investigation.

The court said “it needs one more day’s time as it’s considering former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Rakesh Kumar Jain or others,” according to ANI. The court has also ordered the state to also include some more senior police officers in the Special Investigation Agency (SIT).

At least four farmers and a journalist were among those killed on October 3 near Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district. Angry farmers say that Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was inside the car at the time of the murder. However, the Union minister and his son denied any wrongdoing.

In this case, the police have so far arrested 13 accused including Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra. Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) is gearing up to intensify agitation against agricultural laws and is planning nationwide protests to mobilize farmers against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against three farm legislation since November last year. The top court in January this year, stayed the laws, hence blocking its implementation.

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