Overlapping interests: On UP police investigation into Lakhimpur Kheri violence

NS The Supreme Court of India keeps asking Slow progress in ongoing investigation Violence of 3 October During a farmers’ protest at Tikoniya in Lakhimpur-Kheeri district, a situation that looks bad on the Uttar Pradesh police and administration. In its latest expression of dissatisfaction, the court has indicated that it would like a retired high court judge to oversee the investigation and has sought a response from the state government. The court’s apprehensions are not unfounded. A large number of witnesses who have come forward directly to the aid of the police have ended up giving “excellent evidence”, that is, their statements are in favor of some suspects. Another source of doubts about the fairness of the investigation is seeking to create an overlap between two FIRs registered in connection with the incidents: one related to harvesting of four farmers and a journalist covering the incident in vehicles. related to covering the incident. Part of the convoy of Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra; And the second was related to retaliatory violence by the mob, in which three people were killed. State government counsel has confirmed in the latest hearing that Raman Kashyap, reporting for a television channel, was indeed get out of a car, the court pointed out that earlier an attempt was made to give the impression that he was killed by a mob. The idea of ​​having a retired judge to oversee the investigation is motivated by the court’s keenness that the two offenses do not mix.

It would be in the public interest to have a judicial mind to oversee the investigation. It will also have a beneficial effect on the investigation as a precautionary measure against any attempt to dilute or derail the case. It is noteworthy that the judges of the Bench feel that certain developments benefit a particular accused. This appears to be a direct reference to the influential Ashish Mishra. Such an assumption will persist as long as the investigation seems slow, and the collection of evidence is geared towards acquittal. Both the central government and the ruling BJP are silent on retaining the suspect’s father as a Union minister, a factor that casts a shadow over the investigation. The Court is also not inclined to hand over the investigation to the CBI, and is probably right in holding that view. Recording the statements of witnesses before a judicial magistrate, certifying the electronic evidence available so far and stitching together the evidence to make a strong case for the prosecution can be a time-consuming task, but what is expected of the state police That is not a heretical act. There can be no excuse for letting the impartiality of the investigation come under the scanner.