Lakhimpur-Kheri violence case: No action will be taken under pressure, without evidence: UP CM

Lucknow, Oct 8: After the Supreme Court rapped the Uttar Pradesh government over the slow progress in the investigation of Lakhimpur violence, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday that the government will not take action under pressure while assuring that injustice will not be meted out to anyone.

Adityanath described the incident as unfortunate and reaffirmed that there was no place for violence in democracy when the law assures to protect everyone. Reacting to reports of attempts to protect minister Ajay Mishra's son, "There is no such video. We have issued numbers, and if anyone has evidence, they can upload it. All will be crystal clear. There will be no injustice with anyone. No one will be allowed to take the law in his hand but no action will be taken under any pressure."

"We will not arrest anyone on allegations. But yes, if someone is guilty, he will also not be spared irrespective of who he is," he said.

The UP CM said that the state government takes action based on the evidences. "Be it a BJP MLA or an opposition MLA and anyone in any post. We never hesitated in taking action. In Lakhimpur incident also, the government is doing the same thing," he said. On pasting of notice summoning Ashish Mishra and his arrest, the chief minister said, "A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted by the government and a judicial commission has also be formed."

On 3 October, the jeep owned by the minister's son mowed down a few protesting farmers. Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.

A total of eight people died in the violence.

Farmers have accused that the minister's son Ashish Mishra was also in one of the vehicles, but his father denied it and said that his son was at a different event at that time.

The UP cops have arrested two identified as Luvkush and Ashish Pandey in connection with the case. The police have summoned the minister's son Ashish on Friday but he did not turn up. PTI