Jharkhand lynching: SIT constituted to probe incident; 5 people arrested, 2 cops suspended

Two Jharkhand police officers were suspended and a probe was initiated against a third official, in connection with the incident.

SP, Saraikela Kharsawan (left)/ family members of Tabrez Ansari (right)/ Courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Five people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 24-year-old man named Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand’s Saraikela district who was brutally thrashed by a mob under suspicion of theft, and was also allegedly forced to chant Jai Shri Ram and Jai Hanuman. Two Jharkhand police officers were suspended and a probe was initiated against a third official, in connection with the incident. They were officers in charge of Kharaswan and Sini police stations, they said. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to look into the death of Tabrez Ansari, who was declared "brought dead" by doctors at the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur on June 22, agencies reported. Tabrez Ansari, 24, died in a hospital on Sunday, days after he was brutally thrashed by a mob at Dhatkidih village in Seraikela district on suspicion of stealing a bike. According to the police, a stolen motorcycle and some other things were also recovered from him. Seraikela-Kharsawan Superintendent of Police Karthik S said that on June 17, Ansari and two others had entered a house in Seraikela village at night allegedly with an intention to commit theft. However, the occupants of the house woke up and raised an alarm, following which villagers caught hold of Ansari and "manhandled" him, while his accomplices managed to flee, the SP told reporters. The police reached the spot in the morning and took Ansari to jail on the basis of a complaint from villagers, after administering first aid to him. However, when his condition deteriorated in jail on the same day, he was taken to the Sadar Hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple injuries, the SP said. He was subsequently referred to the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur. Earlier, the police had said Ansari was tied to a pole and beaten up with sticks through the night. According to police sources, initially Ansari tried to save himself by calling himself "Sonu". However, he was forced to reveal his real name after the mob asked him to chant "Jai Sri Ram". After the thrashing, the mob handed him over to the police, which took him to a police post. However, he had to be admitted to a hospital after his condition worsened and he died at the hospital on Sunday. Video of lynching: The incident came to light after a video went viral in which Mandal was seen beating Ansari, who was tied to a tree. The video in question, circulated widely on social media, was shared with the police by Ansari's family members and it was being investigated, the SP said. "We are looking into all angles. His family members mentioned some unidentified miscreants in their complaint. Based on that, we have already arrested five people, including a man named Papu Mandal," he added. The SP said the post-mortem report had not been received yet. Targeted because he had a Muslim name: victim’s family Ansari's wife Shaista Parveen lodged an FIR at the Seraikela police station alleging that he was caught by some people while he was on his way back on a bike from Jamshedpur last Monday. He was tied to a tree and beaten up brutally, and also forced to chant "Jai Sri Ram". Ansari's wife has questioned the role of the police in her husband's death alleging that he was not given timely medical treatment. She has accused the police of taking him to jail first, instead of a hospital. The family members of Tabrez, said they want that those responsible be tried under IPC Sec 302 (Punishment for murder), also demand compensation and government job for his wife. Speaking on the incident, his relative Maqsood Alam however refuted theft charges and claimed that it was a communal attack. “They thrashed him and later gave him to police. He was suspected of theft but it was a communal attack”. He further said “Tabrez was beaten because he had a Muslim name. They made him chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' again and again”. Political parties condemn the incident: Meanwhile, the opposition Congress said it had formed a seven-member team to probe the incident. "We demand Rs 25 lakh compensation for the family of the victim and a job for his wife," a Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) member said. The incident has triggered angry reactions from various political parties across the country. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said that 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 (what kind of a process is this to win everyone's trust)?," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister tweeted. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said such incidents now followed a familiar pattern. "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'," he said in a tweet. The incident also found mention in the Rajya Sabha, when senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said Jharkhand had become a "lynching factory". "Dalits and Muslims are being killed there every week. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, we are with you in the fight of 'sabka saath sabka vikas', but it should be there for people to see it. We cannot see it anywhere," he said.