Tabrez Ansari lynching: Jharkhand Police drops murder charge against all 11 accused

Over two months since 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari was beaten up by a mob in Jharkhand, for alleged robbery in Kharsawan district, the Jharkhand Police has dropped murder charges under IPC Section 302 in the chargesheet filed against the 11 accused in the case, reports The Indian Express. 

In July, 11 people were arrested for brutally assaulted a man, forcing him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' in a video that was circulated online.  He was thrashed on the allegations of bike theft and was made to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman'

The police had set up a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the death of Ansari, who was declared "brought dead" by doctors at the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur.

Tabrez Ansari with his wife. Image procured by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters

However, the chargesheet, submitted on 29 July by the police has dropped the charges of murder against Tabrez’s 11 alleged attackers, The Quint reported. The police had filed the chargesheet last month under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

According to the publication, all 11 accused have been charged under Section 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (causing grievous hurt), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings). But according to recent developments, the police cited that in the “final post-mortem report” that Tabrez died of “cardiac arrest”, and stating that it was “not a case of premeditated murder.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Karthik S, Saraikela-Kharsawan SP, said, “We filed a chargesheet under IPC section 304 because of two reasons. One, he did not die at the spot… the villagers did not have any intent to kill Ansari. Second, the medical report did not substantiate the murder charge. The final post-mortem report said Ansari died due to cardiac arrest and that a haemorrhage in the head was not fatal. The second medical opinion said the cause of death was a combination of cardiac arrest and the head injury.”

Karthik S had said on 17 June that Ansari and two others had entered a house in Seraikela village in the night, allegedly with the intention of committing 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.

Ansari was found to be in possession of valuables, which he and his associates had allegedly stolen from other villages, the officer said. 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 a hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple injuries, the SP said. He was subsequently referred to the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur.

Tabrez's family alleges that the police ignored a complaint of mob violence on 17 June and reached the spot only the next day, until when the mob kept thrashing him. The family further accused the police of putting pressure on hospitals to fabricate Tabrez's fitness report, certifying him as fit even though he was badly beaten up.

Tabrez had come to his village a few days before Ramzan for his wedding. This tragedy happened barely a month and a half after that. He was to return to Pune with his wife and had booked a ticket for 24 June.

The usual procedural responses were in place, as the administration set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. Tabrez's death made him important enough to find an indirect mention in the speeches of various MPs, including the prime minister, who condemned the violence and said the perpetrators should get the harshest punishments under law.

With inputs from agencies