Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday to participate in the "antim ardas (final rites)" prayers of the protesting farmers who were mowed down in the Uttar Pradesh district earlier this month.
Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, accused of running over farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, was arrested on Saturday after being questioned for over 12 hours in Lakhimpur Kheri, and was subsequently sent to police custody for three days on Monday.
The police said he had been giving "evasive answers" and not cooperating. He had skipped the summons yesterday due to health reasons, according to his father.
His arrest came five days after he was named in a murder case. The charges against him would usually merit an immediate arrest and questions have been raised about whether he was afforded VIP treatment because of his father.
Eight people, including four farmers, died in the UP district on October 3 after a car ran over a group of demonstrators protesting against the visit by junior Home Minister Ajay Mishra and UP's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. Though the Union Minister admits the SUV that ran over farmers belongs to him, he maintains his son was not in it.
The farmer said that the incident was a "pre-planned conspiracy". They demanded that Union Minister Ajay Mishra should also be removed from the government as he started this conspiracy and is also protecting the culprits in the case.