On March 18, 2016, 32-year-old cattle trader Mazloom Ansari and his business partner’s 11-year-old son Imtiaz Khan were mercilessly beaten and hanged from a tree by cow vigilantes in Jhabar village. Jharkhand High Court convicted eight people in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment on Dec 19.
The families of two people lynched in Latehar, Jharkhand expressed fears about their safety on Wednesday at Press Club of India, New Delhi.
On March 18, 2016, 32-year-old cattle trader Mazloom Ansari and his business partner’s 11-year-old son Imtiaz Khan were mercilessly beaten and hanged from a tree by cow vigilantes in Jhabar village. 8 people, Manoj Kumar Sahu, Mithilesh Prasad Sahu, Pramod Kumar Sahu, Manoj Sao, Awadhesh Sao, Arun Sao, Sehdav Sao and Vishal Tiwari were accused in the case.
Jharkhand High Court convicted eight people in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment on Dec 19.
The Press Conference was attended by Saira Bibi, Mazloom Ansari’s wife, Afzal Ansari M, his brother, Azad Khan M, Khan’s father, Najma Bibi, his mother, Md Hanjala Shaikh, the State President of Popular Front of India from Jharkhand and Saifan Shaikh, their advocate from Pune, Maharashtra.
Mazloom Ansari’s brother Mohammed Arshad Ansari appealed to Jharkhand HC to not give bail to the 8 convicts in the Latehar Lynching case. He fears that if that happens his family’s well-being would be threatened and their lives would be in danger.
Azad Khan whose young son Imtiaz was mercilessly beaten and hanged from a tree along with Mazloom Khan finds it difficult to talk about his son’s death and the trial. His mother Najma Bibi said, “Budhape ka sahara chala gaya.”
“They killed my son in the forest. What is stopping them from killing people after breaking into their homes? I urge that justice be done and the guilty men do not walk away unpunished. I have a young daughter who I am making sure gets an education. But do you know what condition we are living in today? I know how we make ends meet. The case has ruined us financially,” she said.
Saira Bibi, Mazloom Ansari’s widow said, “I have a young son and four daughters. I have not received any compensation or even a job from the government. How am I to feed my children? How will I get my daughters married?”
She also stated that she is being threatened by the convicts from behind bars. “They are confident about getting bail from the high court. They say once they are out they will come after us,” she said.
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