Jayant Sinha expresses 'regret' week after garlanding Jharkhand lynching convicts

Union Minister Jayant Sinha on Wednesday expressed regret over his recent act of garlanding eight people convicted of lynching a man to death in Jharkhand.

Union Minister Jayant Sinha garlanding alleged mob lynchers has sparked a political storm. Photo: PTI

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jayant Sinha on Wednesday expressed regret over his recent act of garlanding eight lynching convicts in Jharkhand. "I have said many times that the matter is still sub judice. It won't be fair to talk on this. Law will take its own course. We have always worked towards punishing the guilty and sparing the innocent. If by garlanding them (Ramgarh lynching case convicts) an impression has gone out that I support such vigilantism then I express regret over it," Jayant Sinha told ANI.

I have earlier also said that law will take its own course. Guilty will be punished & innocent will be spared. If by garlanding those men (Ramgarh lynching case convicts) an impression has gone out that I support such vigilantism then I express regret: Union Minister Jayant Sinha pic.twitter.com/vHEtqhRg8n

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2018

Last week, Sinha gave rise to a political storm by welcoming eight men who were convicted in the Ramgarh lynching case in Jharkhand with a garland. Justifying his actions, Sinha had said that the Ranchi High Court has suspended the sentence of the accused and released them on bail. In a picture that went viral, the Union Minister was seen garlanding the convicts in the Ramgarh lynching case in Jharkhand at his residence on the outskirts of Hazaribagh. Jharkhand lynching case A Ramgarh Court had sentenced the 11 accused, in connection with the Alimuddin murder case in Ramgarh district to a lifetime in prison. Alimuddin, also known as Asgar Ansari, was intercepted by a mob and beaten to death in June last year over suspicions of transporting beef in his vehicle near Bazartand village. The mob later set the vehicle ablaze.