The CPI (M) politbureau member wrote to the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission strongly protesting the closure by the NHRC of the complaint she had made in 2016 related to the mob lynching of a 12-year-old boy Imtiaz Khan and his uncle M. Ansari.
New Delhi: Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) has written a letter to the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission strongly protesting the closure by the NHRC of the complaint she had made in 2016 related to the mob lynching of a 12-year-old boy Imtiaz Khan and his uncle M. Ansari in the Latehar district of Jharkhand. “The NHRC is failing in its duty to protect the human rights of the families of the victims in this case,” she said.
The duo was thrashed and hanged to die on a tree in a nearby forest in Latehar, Jharkhand in 2016. It was suspected that cow vigilantes had murdered them when the two were travelling to a cattle fair to sell a batch of oxen. The accused were let off despite eyewitness accounts.
“It is extremely disappointing to learn that the Commission has closed the said case concerning the compensation for the next kin of M. Ansari and Imtiaz Khan, who were victims of brutal lynching case in Latehar, Jharkhand. The Rs. 1 lakh compensation offered to the families is an affront to justice and, therefore, it was not taken by the family,” Karat’s letter read. The letter was sent to NHRC on Oct 27.
Besides asking for the compensation amount to be increased, Karat questioned NHRC’s blind trust that the family of victims had accepted their report. “Considering that the Commission itself has taken two years to enquire into the case, it is unfair that simply because the family has not answered within four weeks you closed the case. There may be valid reasons such as migration for work etc., which made it difficult to respond within the stipulated time. It certainly does not mean that the Commission can take for granted that the family has accepted this report,” she wrote.
Full text of the letter:
This is with reference to the letter dated 27.10.2018, Case No. 494/34/22/2016 received by me from the National Human Rights Commission, Law Division.
It is extremely disappointing to learn that the Commission has closed the said case concerning the compensation for the next kin of M. Ansari and Imtiaz Khan, who were victims of brutal lynching case in Latehar, Jharkhand. The Rs. 1 lakh compensation offered to the families is an affront to justice and, therefore, it was not taken by the family. Surely, the job of the National Human Rights Commission is to ensure fair compensation for families who have been torn apart by brutal lynchings as in these two cases. It is shocking that the NHRC has not insisted that the meagre amount of Rs. 1 lakh offered by the Jharkhand Government should be increased.
Secondly, the case has been closed saying that the family did not respond within four weeks of your sending the report. Considering that the Commission itself has taken two years to enquire into the case, it is unfair that simply because the family has not answered within four weeks you closed the case. There may be valid reasons such as migration for work etc., which made it difficult to respond within the stipulated time. It certainly does not mean that the Commission can take for granted that the family has accepted this report.
I request you to reconsider the matter to ensure that the victims’ families are given adequate compensation and justice.
Read Also:
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