A mob got hold of Tabrez alias Sonu as he was going home, Saraikela-Kharaswan on a motorcycle. He was attacked merely at a distance of five kilometres from his residence. The attackers tied him to an electric pole. The video of the incident showed that when the mob asked his name and he replied, “Sonu”, they abused him and demanded to know his actual name. Terrified, he replied saying “Tabrez”. Immediately, the mob began chanting “Jai Sri Ram”, pounced on him, and beat him up, brutally. They tried to force him to chant “Jai Sri Ram”. Later, they left him, badly injured. When he was brought to hospital, Tabrez succumbed to his injuries during treatment. 

His brutal killing has left social media users in a state of total shock and dismay.

Reacting on the incident, youth leader Umar Khalid updated the following as his Facebook status, “Can we organise simultaneous protests across the country this Wednesday against the brutal lynching of Tabrez Ansari and the continuing incidents of mob violence? Any platform, any banner, any organisation, any place…but just one demand #JusticeForTabrez and an end to mob violence? Citizens can take the initiative in their galis, mohallas, anywhere. Dont just like the post, give your opinion in the comments section and take responsibility in your respective areas.”

Now, many organisations from different parts of the country have responded to this incident of mob lynching. Protests are being organised in Delhi, Varanasi, Ahmedabad and other areas.

Ansari’s recently wed wife, Shaista Parveen approached the police with the videos of the incident, which have now spread on social media and generated shock and condemnation.

As per the latest reports, 11 men have been arrested. Two police officers have also been suspended. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is supposed to submit a report to the Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary by Wednesday.

Tabrez’s family alleged that despite several appeals, police didn’t arrange for proper treatment and family members weren’t allowed to meet him. The family also alleges that he died long before he was taken to a hospital. The family has demanded action against all concerned, including the police and the doctor; the latter has yet to be questioned.

Due to widespread rage across the country, the police have admitted to lapses and formed the SIT. Two officers, Chandramohan Oraon and Bipin Bihari, have been suspended for “not reporting the seriousness of the issue to the higher authorities” and “register a case of lynching on the very same day”, a government statement said.

Minister CP Singh in Jharkhand said that it was “wrong to politicise mob killings.” He added that the “trend” these days, was to “associate such incidents with the BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. It is a time of ‘cut and paste’ – who fits what words where is difficult to say”.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted:

“Tabrez Ansari was lynched to death in BJP ruled Jharkhand. A Hindu mob thrashed him ruthlessly because he refused to chant Jai Sri Ram. Is this NDA 2.0’s New India? Yeh kaunsa tareeka hai sabka vishwas jeetnay ka?”

Hyderabad politician Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted: “This is the pattern with almost all lynchings. First, a Muslim is murdered by cow lovers. Then the most ridiculous excuses begin: a ‘suspicion’ of beef possession, theft, smuggling & love jihad. So much for sabka vishwas when we can be killed over mere ‘suspicions’.”

Most others from mainstream parties such as Congress, SP and BSP have not spoken on the issue. On this, AIPWA secretary and CPI (ML) polit bureau member Kavita Krishnan said,

Noted human rights activist Teesta Setalvad said,

Data from the fact-checking website FactChecker.in shows that the attack on Tabrez Ansari was the eleventh such incident of hate crime this year. In 59 per cent of the cases, the victims have been Muslims and 28 per cent of the incidents have been over cow-related issues.

Since 2016, as many as 13 people have been killed in various incident of mob lynching In Jharkhand. On April 10, a tribal man Prakash Lakra was beaten to death allegedly for skinning dead Ox.

Rumours on whatsapp of alleged incidents of beef eating and cow smuggling spread like wildfire leading to many such deaths. Victims’ families dispute such allegations. Since 2015, a large number of lynching cases have taken place in BJP ruled state particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Jharkhand.

In another horrific incident in March 2016, cow vigilantes had abducted cattle trader Majloom Ansari and schoolboy Imtiaz Khan in Latehar district while they were on their way to a cattle fair in a neighbouring district. They lynched the two and hanged them from a tree. In December 2018, a local court sentenced eight convicts to life for their involvement in the incident.

To stop lynching cases, Supreme Court has also issued orders, but the incidents continue. Nodal officers are required to be appointed by state governments to prevent this new form of violence.

The post Nationwide protests against brutal mob lynching of Jharkhand youth Tabrez Ansari appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Jharkhand witnessed another lynching. This time of a 24 year old Muslim youth, Tabjrej Ansari in Seraikela Kharsawan on June 21, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Jharkhand to participate in the International Yoga Day event. On that day, a mob, who allegedly captured one Tabrej Ansari alias Sonu, on allegations of theft, tied Tabrej to an electric pole. The video of the incident shows that when the mob asked his name and he replied, “Sonu”, they abused him and demanded to know his actual name. Terrified, he replied saying ” Tabrej” (an obviously Muslim name). Immediately, the mob began chanting Jai Sri Ram, pounced on him, and beat him up, brutally. Later, they left him, badly injured. When he was brought to hospital, Tabrej succumbed to his injuries during treatment. However, the police said the cause of the death of Tabrej Ansari, a resident of Kharsawan city, was not yet known since the autopsy report has not been submitted yet.

Tabrej becomes the 13^th person, who has been lynched in Jharkhand, since 2016. The last one was a tribal Prakash Lakra who was beaten to death on April 10 for skinning dead Ox. While most remain Muslims, and have been lynched rumpours circulated on Whatsapp and social media of ‘beef eating’ or for cattle trading, some others have got killed over allegation of thefts too. These allegations have been disputed by the victim families however. Since 2015, a large number of lynching cases have taken place in BJP ruled state particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Jharkhand.
 
Videos of the assault soon spread on social media. Ansari’s family approached the police with the videos after his death, based on which an FIR was filed. The complainant was Shaista Parveen, Ansari’s wife. On the basis of the videos, the police arrested a villager identified as Pappu Mandal and named 100 unidentified people in its first information report. “He has been arrested under murder and rioting charges,” said the police. Superintendent of Police Chandan Kumar Sinha, confirmed the incident to the local media saying, “I have joined here yesterday only and informed about the incident verbally. One accused have been arrested so far, while three to four persons have been named and many unnamed accused too mentioned in the FIR.”
Tabrej Ansari’s family has filed a police complaint based on videos of his assault that are circulating on social media. The complaint may be read here:

According to the FIR, the mob also forced Ansari to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman”. However, the police denied the mob’s invovlement with any Hindutva organisations and said that Pappu Mandal did not belong to any Hindutva organisation such as the Bajrang Dal. District police chief Karthik S also refused to comment on Ansari being forced to chant the slogans. “I have not heard any of those videos,” he said. “The situation here is peaceful.”

However, Ansari’s wife accused the police of not providing her husband proper treatment even though he had sustained injuries in the head, reported Avenue Mail, a Jharkhand-based newspaper. His uncle Maksud Ansari alleged that villagers had brutally murdered his nephew and accused the police of delaying action against the perpetrators. Maksud Ansari claimed that his nephew died in jail but prison officials sent him to a hospital to save themselves. He demanded stringent action against jail and district police officials.

The police has put out its own version of the incident however. They say that Ansari was caught in Dhaktidih village while allegedly attempting to steal a motorcycle. “Two of his accomplices escaped,” Superintendent of Police Karthik S told the Mumbai-based Scroll.in. “But he was ill-treated by the villagers. When the police got the information, they went to the spot and took him in custody, along with the motorcycle.”

Ansari was charged with attempting to steal, and produced in a court that sent him to judicial remand. According to the police, he fell ill on Saturday and was taken to a hospital, where he died. This has been contested by local activists. “While it’s being reported that the death happened in the hospital, Ansari actually died in police custody,” claimed Afzal Anis, an activist.

Just yesterday, the official report released by the United States had opined said mob attacks by “violent extremist Hindu groups” against minority communities, particularly Muslims, continued in India in 2018 amid rumours that victims had traded or killed cows for beef. Predictably the report had been rejected by the Indian Ministry for External Affairs. Not far back, in April this year,  a mob lynched an Adivasi man in the state’s Gumla district for cutting a dead bull. Three others were injured in the incident. On May 31, a strong 5,000 person protest was held in outrage against the incident.

In another horrific incident in  March 2016, cow vigilantes had abducted cattle trader Majloom Ansari and schoolboy Imtiaz Khan in Latehar district while they were on their way to a cattle fair in a neighbouring district. They lynched the two and hanged them from a tree. In December 2018, a local court sentenced eight convicts to life for their involvement in the incident.
To stop lynching cases, Supreme Court has also issued orders in this regard, but the incidents continue. Nodal officers are required to be appointed by state governments to prevent this new form of violence.
 
 

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