On March 28, 2022, the Supreme Court disposed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed against the bail granted to 10 out of 11 accused in the Ramgarh Lynching case, directing the High Court of Jharkhand to take up all pending appeals filed by the convicted accused within six months. It also directed the convicted accused to extend cooperation without praying for any adjournment of appeals.

The Bench stated, “Since 10 out of 11 convicted accused were granted relief in under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the High Court has extended similar benefit to respondent no.2 herein. We, therefore, see no reason to entertain this Special Leave Petition at the instance of the original complainant.”

The men who had been convicted by a special fast track court in Ramgarh in March 2018, had their sentences suspended by the Jharkhand High Court in July 2018, pending a decision on their appeal against the lower court’s judgment.

Brief background of the case

On June 29, 2017, Alimuddin Ansari, a 45-year-old coal trader, was lynched by a mob of nearly 100 people in Bazartand in Ramgarh district on suspicion of transporting beef in his vehicle. They dragged him outside his vehicle and beat him with sticks and pieces of meat. The mob also set his car on fire.

Ansari was rescued by the police who arrived on the spot within 30 minutes, even as he was still being assaulted before a crowd that cheered the assailants. He was first taken to Sardar Hospital in Ramgarh, but transferred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi because of the severity of his injuries. It was at the second hospital that Ansari breathed his last. Ansari left behind six children including three daughters. He was the only earning member in the family.

The case also made headlines when in October 2017, a witness was unable to testify because his wife was killed in an accident outside the courtroom. “Alimuddin’s brother Jalil Ansari, a witness in the murder case, had come to depose before the court on Thursday. He had forgotten his identity proof, so he asked his wife Julekha, aged around 50, and Alimuddin’s son Shahzad Ansari (22) to go home and get it. The accident occurred while they were on their way. The police said that an unidentified bike hit the victim’s bike,” the Indian Express had reported then.

On March 21, 2018, the Sessions court of Ramgarh set a legal precedent as it awarded life sentence to the 11 accused, including Nityanand Mahto (local leader and BJP Media in-charge for Ramgarh). The court’s guilty verdict for the 11 men was the first conviction in India for Gau Rakshaks, the self-styled cow vigilantes linked to the RSS-BJP-VHP-Bajrang Dal, who have gone on an attack-and-kill spree especially since the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014. All 11 accused Deepak Mishra, Chhotu Verma, Santosh Singh, Uttam Ram, Sikandar Ram, Vikram Prasad, Raju Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Nityanand Mahto, Kapil Thakur and Vicky Sao were sentenced under section 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance) and 302 (murder) to rigorous imprisonment for life and fine of Rs. 1000. In addition Deepak Mishra, Chhotu Verma and Santosh Singh were also sentenced under section 120 (concealing design to commit an offence) for rigorous life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2000.

The court in the end, before passing the order, had recorded, “While as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India no person can be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to procedure established by law and state is duty bound to protect the life and liberty of every human being, but the state has completely failed to perform its constitutional as well as statutory obligations.” It also directed that since the victim needs to be adequately compensated, the case be recommended to District Legal Service Authority, Ramgarh for awarding adequate quantum of compensation to the victim of the crime.

However, the High Court of Jharkhand granted bail to one of the accused on June 8, 2018 eight others on June 29 and one other accused on July 10, 2018, on account of no evidence against them, as reported by the Scroll. Only one accused is still behind bars pending investigation with the Juvenile Justice Board, on account of being a minor.

As an added insult to the deceased victim’s grieving family, BJP leader Jayant Sinha who was then a Union Minister, in a brazen display of complete disregard for the law, was seen felicitating the convicts in July 2018, after welcoming them to his residence in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

Disposing the Special Leave Petition filed by the deceased victim’s wife Mariyam Khatoon, the Supreme Court has requested the High Court to “take up all pending appeals filed by the convicted accused as early as possible and preferably within six months from the receipt of this order.”

The order maybe read here:

Related:

Victims of Gautankwad: Alimuddin Ansari

Want Justice not Revenge: Mariam Ansari

Gautankwad: Beginning of the End?

Judgment Primer: Alimuddin Ansari lynching case

The post Ramgarh Lynching case: SC sees “no reason” to entertain the Petition filed against the bail of the accused men appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
She earlier received Rs. 2 Lakh from District Legal Service Authority (DLSA.)
 
Ramgarh: Mariam Khatoon, the wife of Alimuddin Ansari who was lynched by cow vigilantes in Jharkhand last year, was given Rs. 5 Lakh compensation by the order of the Jharkhand High Court, confirmed by a news report that came in on Friday.
 
She earlier received Rs. 2 Lakh from District Legal Service Authority (DLSA.) It was reported that after the lynching, Ramgarh Deputy Commissioner had assured Mariam that her son would be getting a job and she would get a ration shop in her name, but there has been no update on that development.
 
On September 14, News Central reported about a team of journalists, activists and lawyers that met the families of lynching victims in Jharkhand, as a part of a civil society initiative, Karwan-e-Mohabbat. They were making sure that lynch victim received fair compensation.
 
“Alimuddin Ansari’s widow, Mariam Khatoon, is also still waiting for her widow’s pension and compensation from the state. The Karwan team met the family in Ramgarh district. Alimuddinwas lynched on June 29, 2017, on suspicion of transporting beef. The accused persons were identified and arrested after a video of the lynching went viral on social media. Out of the 12 accused, 11 were sentenced to life in prison in September last year. However, the Jharkhand High Court has recently suspended the sentence for eight of them, including that of accused BJP leader Nityanand Mahto. The wounds of his widow haven’t healed. They were worsened after Union Minister Jayant Sinha went ahead and garlanded the convicted gaurakshaks when they were released on bail,” the report said.
 
In a July report by Sabrang India, it was reported that the local police refused to issue a death certificate to Mariam Khatoon without which she couldn’t apply for compensation. “The local police have not issued a death certificate to Mariam Khatoon, Alimuddin’s widow, claiming that since he died in a moving police vehicle, his exact place of death can’t be ascertained. Without the death certificate, Mariam can’t get the compensation,” the report said.
 
Background:
On June 29, 2017 just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned lynching under the guise of cow protection, a 45 year old man was killed by a hundred man strong mob in Jharkhand. Alimuddin Ansari aka Asgar Ali of Mouna village was allegedly carrying 200 kgs of meat in his van when he was intercepted by the mob at Bazartand in Ramgarh district. They dragged him outside his vehicle and beat him with sticks and pieces of meat. The mob also set his car on fire.
 
A video of the assault, that was allegedly deliberately circulated by the assailants on social media, showed that throughout the assault Ansari did not retaliate or fight back, and yet the mob kept beating him relentlessly.  In fact one man even violently snapped Ansari’s head to face the camera and yet Ansari still did not fight back. Ansari was rescued by the police who arrived on the spot in 30 minutes even as he was still being assaulted before a crowd that cheered the assailants. He was first taken to Sardar Hospital in Ramgarh, but transferred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi because of the severity of his injuries. It was at the second hospital that Ansari breathed his last.

Read also:
https://sabrangindia.in/article/bail-granted-life-sentence-suspended-bjp-leader-nityananda-mahato-ors-hc-alimuddin-ansari
https://sabrangindia.in/article/11-sentenced-life-imprisonment-alimuddin-ansari-lynching-case
https://cjp.org.in/gautankwad-beginning-of-the-end/
 

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The men who had been convicted by a special fast track court in Ramgarh in March 2018, had recently had their sentences suspended by the Jharkhand High Court pending a decision on their appeal against the lower court’s judgment.

45 year old Alimuddin Ansari was lynched by a mob of nearly 100 people in Bazartand in Ramgarh district on suspicion of transporting beef in his vehicle in June 2017. They dragged him outside his vehicle and beat him with sticks and pieces of meat. The mob also set his car on fire.

Ansari was rescued by the police who arrived on the spot in 30 minutes even as he was still being assaulted before a crowd that cheered the assailants. He was first taken to Sardar Hospital in Ramgarh, but transferred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi because of the severity of his injuries. It was at the second hospital that Ansari breathed his last. Ansari left behind six children including three daughters. He was the only earning member in the family.

All of the 11 accused – including a local BJP leader Nityanand Mahato – were convicted under IPC Section 302 (murder). In addition, three of them were convicted under Section 120B (conspiracy) – indicating that the court was convinced that the attack was pre-meditated. 

The fact that a BJP leader, that too a Union Minister, would felicitate people convicted under murder and conspiracy charges, reeks of impunity. The fact that the victim in the case was a Muslim also highlights the underlying anti-minority bias of the leader. Infact, faced with scathing criticism in wake of the garlanding, Sinha appeared to justify his actions in a series of tweets saying, “I have repeatedly expressed my misgivings about the Fast-Track Court judgement sentencing each accused to life imprisonment. I am pleased that the Hon’ble High Court will hear the matter as a statutory court of appeal to test the correctness of the Fast-Track Court order.”

His entire twitter thread where he appears to suggest that innocent men had been wrongfully convicted may be read here.

The post BJP Minister garlands Ramgarh lynching convicts appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On the first anniversary of the gruesome lynching of Alimuddin Ansari, the Jharkhand HC suspended the life sentence of BJP leader, Nityananda Mahto and 7 Others. In March this year, after the convictions, widow Mariam Ansari had made the headlines with her compassion when she had said ‘she was against the death penalty’ for the killers of her husband.

This order, dated June 29, 2018 comes merely three months after the historic convictions. On Friday, the Jharkhand High Court suspended the life sentence awarded to 8 convicts including BJP leader Nityananda Mahto. It was on March 21, that a fast track court had imposed life imprisonment on Mahto and 10 other cow vigilantes for the alleged lynching of the deceased, Alimuddin Akhtar Ansari , on June 29 last year for allegedly carrying cow meat in the Ramgarh District of Jharkhand. The bench of Justices H. C. Mishra and B. B. Mangalmurti was hearing the bail applications of the appellants, having been convicted for the offences under Sections 147, 148, 427 / 149, 435 / 149, and 302 / 149 of the Indian Penal Code. Eleven persons, cow vigilantes, had been entenced to life imprisonment in the Alimuddin Ansari lynching case
The Judges have directed Mahto and seven others to be released on bail, during the pendency of the appeals, subject to the furnishing of bail bonds of Rs.10,000 with two sureties of the like amount each.

The Order may be read here.

The prosecution case was instituted on the basis of the FIR lodged by the wife of the deceased on June 29, 2017 wherein, she had stated that her husband had left for Ramgarh at about 8 AM from his village Manua. Two hours hence, she was informed that, in the Ramgarh bazar, twelve named accused persons, including these appellants, had assaulted her husband, dragging him out from a Maruti van, burning the vehicle. Her husband had died on the spot. In the FIR, she had stated that the accused persons could be identified in the photographs and videos.

On the same day, another FIR was lodged by the Officer-in-Charge of the Ramgarh Police Station, wherein he has claimed that at about 9:45 A.M., he was informed that one Maruti van carrying prohibited meat was put to fire by the mob. Based on the said information, the Police Officer reached the place of occurrence at about 10 AM and found that the Maruti van had been put to fire. In two plastic bags, there was prohibited meat and some prohibited meat was also scattered here and there on the road.

One person was found fallen down in injured condition, who disclosed his name as Md. Alimuddin. The injured person had also allegedly admitted that he was carrying the prohibited meat while the mob of unknown persons had waylaid them, put the Maruti van to fire and had assaulted them.

On the basis of the statement of the Officer-in-Charge of Ramgarh Police Station, a case was instituted under Section 414 / 34 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 12(2) and 12(3) of the Jharkhand Bovine Animal Prohibition of Slaughter Act and Sections 11(D) / 20 21 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act against the unknown.
 “It is apparent from the evidence on the record that the informant, who is the wife of the deceased, is not the eye-witness to the occurrence.  Some of the eye-witnesses have named some of the accused persons giving omnibus allegation that they had assaulted the deceased. Some photographs and one video that had become viral, is the source of identification of the appellants and this has been proved by P.W.-16, who is the I.O. of the case, during trial…It appears from the record that the video was displayed in the Court and she has identified all the appellants in the said video. From her evidence on record it appears that she has identified these appellants in the Court in the video, in which these appellants were only shown present in the mob.
There is no allegation of any assault against them rather, the allegation of assault on the basis of video is specific against three other co-accused persons who are not the appellants before us. To cap all, it has come in the evidence of I.O., that the source of the video and photographs was not known to her…”, noted the Division Bench of the Jharkhand High Court.
“…it is only apparent that the appellants were the members of the mob, and in view of lack of evidence of specific assault against them, we are inclined to release the appellants on bail”,

Background:

On June 29, 2017 just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned lynching under the guise of cow protection, a 45 year old man was killed by a hundred man strong mob in Jharkhand. Alimuddin Ansari aka Asgar Ali of Mouna village was allegedly carrying 200 kgs of meat in his van when he was intercepted by the mob at Bazartand in Ramgarh district. They dragged him outside his vehicle and beat him with sticks and pieces of meat. The mob also set his car on fire.

A video of the assault, that was allegedly deliberately circulated by the assailants on social media, showed that throughout the assault Ansari did not retaliate or fight back, and yet the mob kept beating him relentlessly.  In fact one man even violently snapped Ansari’s head to face the camera and yet Ansari still did not fight back. Ansari was rescued by the police who arrived on the spot in 30 minutes even as he was still being assaulted before a crowd that cheered the assailants. He was first taken to Sardar Hospital in Ramgarh, but transferred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi because of the severity of his injuries. It was at the second hospital that Ansari breathed his last.

How the police responded

While the police reached the spot in about half an hour and rescued Ansari from the clutches of the mob, the statements they subsequently made to the press proved to be terribly problematic. Jharkhand police spokesperson RK Mallick openly and rather irresponsibly speculated that the murder could have been the result of a professional rivalry. “Ali had a criminal record, and was an accused in the kidnapping and murder of a child. He traded in beef and had been getting calls for ransom from his business rivals and local criminals. Still, that does not give anyone the licence to kill him. We will arrest the killers soon,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

Related Articles:

1. Local BJP leader among 11 convicted in Alimuddin Ansari lynching case: Jharkand

2. Gautankwad: Beginning of the End? How a team of dedicated lawyers from Jharkhand secured justice in the Alimuddin Ansari lynching case

 3. Victims of Gautankwad: Alimuddin Ansari

The post Bail Granted, Life Sentence suspended for BJP Leader Nityananda Mahato & Ors: HC, Alimuddin Ansari Lynching appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Thanks to these three lawyers from the Human Rights Law Network, the family of Alimuddin Ansari, who was mercilessly lynched in Ramgarh last year over alleged charges of transporting beef, have got justice. On March 21, a fast-track court in Ramgarh awarded life sentences to 11 people most of whom belonged to Hindu right-wing organisations.

The 11 convicted include a district media cell in-charge of BJP, Nitayanand Mahto and at least three members of the local gau Raksha Samiti – Santosh Singh, Deepak Mishra and Chhotu Verma. The others are Sikander Ram, Vicky Saw, Raju Kumar, Vikram Prasad, Kapil Thakur and Uttam Kumar.
On June 29, 2017, 45-year-old Alimuddin Ansari was attacked by a mob and his Maruti van set afire Bazartand village in Ramgarh. He was initially taken to Ramgarh’s Sadar hospital by the local police and later shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, where he died within minutes of being admitted.

But beyond the rather seminal event of seeing 11 people being awarded life imprisonment, there are three crucial factors which ensured that for once, the family of a person lynched to death got justice: the fact that the trial was conducted in a fast-track court, the fact that three lawyers stood up against the right-wing forces and the most important fact: a police force that actually followed the constitution and stayed true to the case.

“Always knew this case will be tough, but we never gave up”

Shadab Ansari came to know about the brutal lynching of Alimuddin Ansari like the rest of the nation: newspaper articles and WhatsApp videos. On July 13, following strong agitation from locals and the heightened media scrutiny, the BJP government referred to the case to a fast-track court. This, according to Ansari, was the first sign that there was a chance the family of Alimuddin might get justice. “We all know the stories of delays in the normal courts but when the matter came to a fast-track court, we knew that regardless of what the outcome will be, at least the case will move at a good pace,” he told TwoCircles.net.

But even then, for the family of Alimuddin to have any chance against the right-wing machinery, there was a need for good, honest lawyers who were ready to take the ‘risks’, and this is where the Human Rights Law Network stepped in. Ansari says, “We met the family who told us that there was no one to represent them and given what they had gone through, they did not have much money. But we at HRLN decided to fight the case regardless.”

Soon, however, Ansari realised that the element of danger was almost inbuilt in a case like this. “When I went to the court for the first time, I saw huge crowds supporting the accused while the family of Alimuddin was hopelessly outnumbered…we realised that we were not fighting just against the accused but an entire machinery,” he recalls. A resident of Ranchi, he would often go on the bike to the court in Ramgarh. “I and Rajiv Hembrom would always be told by our well-wishers: be safe and stay alert. We never knew when we might be attacked. Thankfully, no such thing happened but I can say that there was never a moment we could relax,” says Ansari.

In cases like these when the accused are known to have the support of politicians, Ansari also says he was impressed with the role played by the police. Remember, there was video evidence in the case of Pahlu Khan also, but in that particular case, the Rajasthan Police’s role was rightly questioned after it exonerated all the accused. “As a lawyer, it is not uncommon to see how the police try to hijack a case or make it weak due to political pressure…but in this case, the police followed the constitution right from the start and remained resolutely unbiased,” he says. “Do not forget that the case was still of the police…as private lawyers, we could only assist but it was the Police that had to take the lead,” says Ansari.

Three police officers who were also eyewitnesses to the case gave honest and exhaustive statements to both the Investigating Officer and while testifying in court, making the case against the accused extremely strong. Apart from that, the charge-sheets prepared by the Police were strong and the Superintendent of Police, Ramgarh, Kishore Kaushal (transferred in February 2018) was personally overseeing the case proceedings.

The accused can, of course, appeal against the judgement in High Court. Ansari says they will adopt a wait-and-watch policy for the time being. “We are happy with the verdict,” he adds.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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Alimuddin Ansari, ((please hyperlink:  https://cjp.org.in/victims-of-gautankwad-alimuddin-ansari/ )) a 45 year old coal trader, was killed by a mob of hundred on June 29, 2017 in Jharkhand, on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on lynching in the name of cow protection. Ansari was targeted for allegedly carrying beef in his van. He was ambushed by the mob, who beat him repeatedly with sticks and pieces of meat, and set his car ablaze. Some members of the mob had been keeping tabs on him since early morning when he allegedly purchased the meat. They also constantly gave their accomplices updates about Ansari’s location in real time and even followed him for 15 kilometers. Ansari reportedly did not fight back at all.

Although the prosecution in the case reportedly called for the convicts to be awarded the maximum punishment,  Mariam Ansari, Alimuddin’s widow, ((please hyperlink: https://cjp.org.in/want-justice-not-revenge-mariam-ansari/ )) categorically stated that she did not believe in retribution and did not want the convicts to be given the death penalty. The court has ordered the District Legal Services Authority guarantee that the victim’s family is adequately compensated. Ansari’s family reportedly said they are satisfied with the verdict and are only seeking compensation because Ansari was the family’s sole bread winner.  

Read more:
https://cjp.org.in/victims-of-gautankwad-alimuddin-ansari/
https://cjp.org.in/local-bjp-leader-among-11-convicted-in-alimuddin-ansari-lynching-case-in-jharkand/
https://cjp.org.in/want-justice-not-revenge-mariam-ansari/
 

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