Tabrez Ansari lynching case: Jharkhand court sentences accused to ten years
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Ranchi: A court in Jharkhand has pronounced a verdict in the Tabrez Ansari lynching case, sentencing ten individuals to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.
The incident, which occurred in June 2019, involved a mob accusing Ansari of attempting to steal a motorcycle and subsequently subjecting him to a brutal beating. He worked as a labourer in Pune, had returned home to celebrate Eid when he was apprehended by locals in Dhatkidih village on the night of June 17, 2019, under suspicion of motorcycle theft. He was tied to a pole and subjected to relentless beatings with sticks throughout the night.
Ansari, aged 24, was captured in a video being forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' in the Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. He passed away five days later due to the injuries.
Additional District Judge-I Amit Shekhar of Seraikela-Kharswan court had previously convicted the ten individuals on June 27, while two others were acquitted due to insufficient evidence. During the sentencing on Wednesday, conducted through video conferencing under tight security, the court imposed ten years of rigorous imprisonment on all the convicts under IPC Section 304, which pertains to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Each convict was fined Rs 15,000.
The lynching incident in Jharkhand, which occurred when the state was under BJP rule, sparked a significant political controversy at the national level. Opposition parties raised the matter in Parliament, leading to disruptions in proceedings for several days.
On June 25, 2019, the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi denounced the lynching as a "blot on humanity" and criticised the "silence" of powerful voices within the BJP-led central and state governments. The following day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his distress over the incident in the Rajya Sabha and emphasised the need for severe punishment for the culprits.
While the main accused, Prakash Mandal alias Pappu Mandal, was already in custody, the remaining convicted individuals were taken into custody after the court's verdict last week. One of the accused, Kushal Mahali, passed away during the course of the trial. The nine other convicted individuals are Bhimsen Mandal, Kamal Mahato, Madan Nayak, Atul Mahali, Sunamo Pradhan, Vikram Mandal, Chamu Nayak, Prem Chand Mahali, and Mahesh Mahali.