The son of an Indian link minister hasbeen arrested on preliminary charges of murder, police said Sunday, a weekafter the death of eight people during a farmers’ protestlink sparked national outrage.
Ashish Mishra was detained in Uttar Pradesh late Saturday over the incidentin the northern state’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, where farmers weredemonstrating as part of their year-long campaign against contentiousagriculture laws.
Farmers claimed that a convoy belonging to Mishra and his father — thejunior home affairs minister Ajay Mishra — slammed into protesters,killing four of them.
Angry demonstrators then set fire to several cars and four other people,including a driver and a journalist, were killed, according to authoritiesand local media reports.
Mishra was arrested on grounds of “non-cooperation” and “evasive replies”during an hours-long interrogation, Deputy Inspector General of PoliceUpendra Kumar Agrawal told reporters.
Mishra will face court on Monday and formal charges have to be filed within90 days. Mishra and his father have denied the allegations.
India’s Supreme Court had said Friday that it was “not satisfied” with thepolice investigation of the case and questioned why the younger Mishra hadnot yet been arrested.
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The incident was the deadliest since farmers started camping on theoutskirts of the capital New Delhi in November demanding a repeal of thecontroversial laws.
The agriculture sector, which employs some two-thirds of India’s 1.3billion population, has long been a political minefield.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says the sector is massivelyinefficient and in need of reform.
But farmers fear the changes will leave them at the mercy of bigcorporations. -APP/AFP
