The CPI (M) has written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) protesting the commission’s decision to close its inquiry into the mob lynching of a 12-year-old boy and his uncle in Latehar, Jharkhand.
Cattle trader Mazloom Ansari (32) and his nephew, 12-year-old Imtiaz Khan, were first thrashed and then hung to death in a forest close to Jhabar village in Latehar in 2016. It was the first case of cow vigilantism reported from the State. The victims were waylaid when they were on their way to sell their last batch of eight oxen at a cattle fair in Chatra district to raise capital to start a new business.
Protesting the move, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, in a sharp letter to the NHRC, said that it was “disappointing” that the commission had closed the case without delivering justice to the victims’ families. The families had only been given a compensation of ₹1 lakh, which Ms. Karat said was an “affront” to justice.
Questioning the commission’s ostensible reason for closing the case — that the family had not responded within the stipulated four weeks — Ms. Karat pointed out the rationale cited was patently unfair given that the commission itself had taken two years to enquire into the case.
“There may be valid reasons such as migration for work etc., which made it difficult to respond within the stipulated time,” she wrote.
Ms. Karat demanded the NHRC reconsider the case and ensure adequate compensation to the families.