Minister's Son Arrested In Farmers' Killing Has Dengue, Taken To Hospital

Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, arrested for his alleged role in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh, is dengue positive and is being moved to the district hospital for treatment.

Ashish Mishra, who was remanded in police custody on Friday, was moved to the Lakhimpur jail late last night after test results confirmed that he had contracted dengue. He will be treated by a panel of doctors. 

"Ashish Mishra is being shifted to district hospital. He has tested positive for dengue. Also, he has diabetes," said Shailendra Bhatnagar, CMO, Lakhimpur Kheri.

Four farmers and a journalist were run over on October 3 by a convoy of three vehicles, one of which belongs to Union Minister of state for home, Ajay Mishra. The minister's son was arrested on October 9, five days after he was named in the murder related to the incident on charges which usually merit immediate arrest.

The families of farmers who died alleged in their complaint to the police that the minster's son was in the driving seat of the SUV that crushed the farmers. His arrest followed 12 hours of police questioning which in turn came after an intervention by the Supreme Court.

Thirteen people, including Ashish Mishra, have so far been arrested in connection with the incident.

Ashish Mishra has denied the charge that he was at the crime scene when the murders took place; he has claimed he was in his paternal village (around two km away) and stayed there all day.

After his arrest on October 9, Ashish Mishra was first remanded to police custody on October 11 with the remand period starting on October 12 and ending on October 15. After the expiry of his first remand period, he was sent back to the Lakhimpur Jail under judicial custody.