Ranchi: A fast-track court held 11 people, including a BJP leader and at least three members of the local ‘gau raksha samiti’, guilty of lynching meat trader Asgar Ali (42) on suspicion of transporting prohibited meat in Ramgarh district in June last year, the first such conviction in Jharkhand where at least six persons have lost their lives in mob attacks under similar circumstances since 2016.
Among those held guilty by the court of district and additional sessions judge Om Prakash of Ramgarh on Friday are Nityanand Mahto, who is associated with BJP's Ramgarh district unit, and Deepak Mishra, Chhotu Verma and Santosh Singh, all members of a local cow vigilante group.
The four, along with Vicky Sao, Sikandar Ram, Vikram Prasad, Raju Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Kapil Thakur and Uttam Ram, were part of the mob that attacked Asgar, alias Alimuddin, at Bazartand locality and torched his Maruti van in which he was transporting meat on June 29, 2017.
They were held guilty under sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief causing damage to property) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance) of IPC.
The 12th accused, a minor, is being tried in a juvenile court. The accused held guilty under Section 302 IPC face either the death penalty or life imprisonment on March 21 when the court is scheduled to announce the quantum of punishment.
"As per my knowledge, this is the first judgment against members of a mob associated with cow vigilantism," said assistant public prosecutor of Ramgarh district court Sushil Kumar.
Welcoming the verdict, Ansari’s son, Shahzad Ansari, said: “We are very happy with the decision. Those who did this got what they deserved. We hope that the higher courts uphold this decision. We are also happy that the decision has come in a short time.”
The lynching of 55-year-old Ansari took place on June 29, 2017, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly spoke against those taking the law into their hands in the name of “gau raksha”. The Jharkhand government had referred the case to a fast track court under Additional Judge-II, Om Prakash, who held hearings almost on a daily basis.
"The juvenile was caught on camera wearing a green full-sleeved shirt and blue shorts beating Alimuddin with a polycarbonate stick. The prosecution presented 19 witnesses, 59 documents and a number of other exhibits, including video footage. The defence produced only one witness," said Kumar.
The horrific incident occurred at 10am on June 29 last year when Alimuddin was passing through the Bazartand area in a white Maruti van loaded with meat. A mob, that police later said seemed to have been waiting for him at the spot, barely 2.5km from Ramgarh police station, stopped him. The men dragged him out of his car and beat him with sticks, one of which was a polycarbonate rod usually used by police.
Later, the mob set the van on fire while a group of people filmed the proceedings.
An injured Alimuddin was rushed to RIMS in Ranchi for treatment, but he died on the way.
His wife Mariam Khatoon lodged an FIR (198/2017) at Ramgarh police station. Sub-inspector Vidyavati Ohdar, who investigated the case, filed a chargesheet before the court on September 17. The court framed charges five days later.
The first victims of cow vigilantism in Jharkhand were two cattle traders, Mohammad Majloom (35) and Inayatullah Khan (12), who were killed at Jhabar village under Balumath police station area of Latehar district in March 2016. Seven persons were arrested, but are now out on bail.
In May last year, four cattle traders, Sheikh Halim, Sheikh Sajju, Sheikh Siraj and Sheikh Naim, were lynched at Shobhapur village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district. As many as 19 accused are in judicial custody.
In June last year, dairy owner Usman Ansari, along with associate Krishna Pandit, was attacked by a mob at Deori in Giridih district. However, timely intervention by police saved their lives.
Police have filed an FIR against 26 people. So far, a chargesheet has been filed against 21 of them.