Jharkhand court convicts 12 cow vigilantes for lynching Muslim trader
A 100-strong mob last year lynched Alimuddin alias Asgar Ali, a 45-year-old Muslim trader, on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car.
india Updated: Mar 16, 2018 19:45 IST
A fast track court in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district on Friday convicted 12 cow vigilantes, including a local BJP leader, for lynching a 55-year old Muslim trader who they claimed was carrying beef in his vehicle.
The court of additional district judge Om Prakash fixed March 21 to pronounce the quantum of punishment.
The accused have been held guilty under Section 302 (murder) — which carries a minimum punishment of life imprisonment and maximum of death penalty — and other offences under the Indian Penal Court.
“This is the first case related to cow vigilantism in the country in which accused have been convicted,” said additional public prosecutor Sushil Kumar Shukla.
The incident took place on June 29 last year, when a 100-strong mob lynched Alimuddin alias Asgar Ali, a 45-year-old Muslim trader, on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car. The attack happened at Bazartand in Ramgarh town, about 45km from the state capital Ranchi. The mob, comprising some Bajrang Dal activists, also set ablaze Ansari’s Maruti van after killing him.
On the day of the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned against mob attacks on cattle traders, beef-eaters and dairy farmers, saying killing people in the name of protecting cows was unacceptable.
Venkaiah Naidu, the then urban development minister, had also condemned the incident, terming it barbaric.
The fast-track court convicted Santosh Singh, Chottu Verma, Deepak Mishra, Vicky Saw, Sikandar Ram, Uttam Ram, Vikram Prasad, Raju Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Nityanand Mahto (local BJP leader) and Kapil Thakur. It also convicted another accused, who the defence said was a minor.
Last year, BJP-ruled Jharkhand witnessed a series of lynchings of Muslim cattle traders. In May, a mob lynched four Muslim cattle traders at a village in Saraikelka Kharswan district after accusing them of being child traffickers.
The issue had rocked Parliament, with several opposition leaders questioning the government’s seriousness in cracking down against such incidents. Facing criticism from all corners, the state government led by chief minister Raghubar Das warned officers-in-charge of police stations that they would be held responsible if any case of mob lynching was reported from their area.
The state had also approached the Jharkhand high court, requesting it constitute a fast-track court to try the Ramgarh lynching case. The police filed charge sheet on September 2017 and as many as 19 prosecution witnesses were examined in the case.