Lucknow: While his son is on trial for the 2021 incident of a Mahindra Thar SUV running over four farmers and a journalist in Lakhimpur Kheri, Union Minister of State (MoS) Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, who is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Kheri constituency, has in his affidavit said he owns “zero” vehicles, though he had previously admitted that the SUV was registered in his name.
Mishra’s election affidavit also mentioned his moveable assets at Rs 1,87,04,085, which includes deposits in banks, jewellery, and investments in Ambika Rice Mills. But under the head of “motor vehicle/vehicle/airplane/yacht” he has mentioned “zero”. His wife, according to the affidavit, has moveable assets worth Rs 36,81,722.46.
Objecting to Teni’s declaration, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) cancelled its Khajurao candidate’s nomination form for a mere lack of a signature, so Teni’s nomination form should also be cancelled because he has mentioned wrong information.
A screenshot shared by the SP of the vehicle’s (UP31AS1000) details shows Ajay Kumar Mishra as its owner. When contacted, a senior officer in the UP transport department confirmed to ThePrint that the information in the screenshot was from a mobile application used to access details of a vehicle and was “authentic and correct”.
“He has shown that he owns no vehicle whereas the Thar jeep used in the Tikonia (Lakhimpur Kheri) case is registered in the RTO (regional transport office) records. It is now a case property. This vehicle found mention in the FIR lodged in the Tikonia case too. Legally, there should be a mention of this vehicle in the affidavit, but the number of vehicles is mentioned as zero,” SP spokesperson I.P. Singh wrote on X, sharing snapshots of Teni’s affidavit.
“Fake information has been mentioned in that affidavit. Hence, his candidature should be cancelled,” he wrote.
Speaking to ThePrint, Singh said there are “double standards” in the ECI’s scrutiny of the nomination forms.
“SP Khajurao candidate’s nomination stands cancelled on a petty issue, merely for the lack of a signature, but we are witnessing the election commission take no cognisance of the fact that Ajay Mishra, whose son is currently facing trial for crushing down farmers using a vehicle registered in his father’s name, has given wrong facts in his affidavit,” he said.
“I have tagged the election commission on social media, but there is no response,” Singh further said, adding that the party is also going to hand over a written complaint to the election commission.
The kin of the deceased farmers and journalist Raman Kashyap also demanded the cancellation of the candidature of the MoS.
Pawan Kashyap, brother of journalist Raman Kashyap, told ThePrint that the special investigative team (SIT), in a 5,000-page chargesheet submitted in 2022, said that “the incident was orchestrated in a pre-planned manner as part of a conspiracy by the MoS and his son Ashish Mishra” as confirmed by portions of the SIT report seen by ThePrint.
“The vehicle was purchased by Ajay Mishra in 2017 while the incident took place in 2021,” Pawan Kashyap said.
खजुराहो में मामूली भूल पर सपा प्रत्याशी का नामांकन पत्र निरस्त कर दिया गया।
यूपी लखीमपुर में नामांकन प्रक्रिया शुरू होने के बाद पहले दिन केंद्रीय मंत्री अजय मिश्र टेनी ने अपना नामांकन पत्र दाखिल किया,
उनके द्वारा दिए गए शपथ पत्र में किसी भी वाहन का न होना दर्शाया गया है जबकि… pic.twitter.com/1U6FTNoqxf
— I.P. Singh (@IPSinghSp) April 19, 2024
Based on a complaint, police had registered the Lakhimpur Kheri FIR under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 304 a (death by negligence), 302 (murder) and 120-b (criminal conspiracy).
The FIR stated that on 3 October, local farmers and labourers were peacefully protesting against Ajay Mishra and Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, at the Maharaja Agrasen Inter College in Tikoniya Kheri.
“Around 3 pm, Ashish Mishra, son of MoS, rushed towards the protest site along with 15-20 armed men in three four-wheelers. Ashish Mishra who was in his Mahindra Thar, sitting on the left side continued to fire as the vehicle moved ahead crushing the people in the crowd,” the FIR further said.
ThePrint called Mishra Monday, and his aide who took the call said, “No comment.”
Pawan Kashyap claimed that despite the Supreme Court granting him conditional bail and banning his entry into UP, Ashish Mishra was spotted in Lakhimpur Kheri several times.
“I have spotted him in the area at least twice. His supporters also shared a video of his presence (in the area) during the Holi celebrations when he was celebrating Holi with them and at another event of distribution of bicycles to the public,” he alleged.
“While he has been roaming without regard for the SC’s directions, the security provided to the kin of the key witnesses was withdrawn. The kin of the deceased farmers and I were provided with a gunner each on the directions of the SC, but they have been withdrawn,” he further said, adding that he was concerned for his security.
Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Tikonia case, is currently being heard by a Lakhimpur Kheri court. The Supreme Court granted him bail in January this year after he filed an application seeking relief on the grounds that his mother had been admitted to the RML Hospital and his daughter needed treatment for a deformity in her feet, so he needed to be with them during their treatment.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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hahahah and later on we’ll come to know that the so called culprits were not at all there at the crime scene… the farmers were killed on their own, videos were morphed ones, deep fake… not sure why does it take so much time to close the case, punish the culprits when there is clear evidence…. had it been a non bjp or any culprit from minority , by now case closed, encounter done….