A Jharkhand court on Tuesday convicted 10 out of the 13 Hindu men arrested in connection with the mob lynching of Tabrez Ansari in 2019.
The quantum of punishment will be announced on July 5 by Additional Session Judge Amit Shekhar.
The 22-year-old Muslim youth died in Jharkhand’s Sarikela-Kharsawan district in 2019, days after he was tied to an electricity pole, assaulted, and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram on suspicion of theft. Ansari was subsequently taken into custody and produced before a court, which sent him to jail. Three days after the assault, he fell ill and was taken to a hospital, where he died.He worked as a labourer and welder in Pune and had come home to celebrate Eid.
The convicted persons — Bhim Singh Munda, Kamal Mahato, Madan Nayak, Atul Mahali, Sunamo Pradhan, Vikram Mandal, Chamu Nayak, Prem Chand Mahali, Mahesh Mahali — were taken into custody soon after they were convicted by the court, PTI reported. Prime accused Prakash Mandal, alias Pappu Mandal, is already in judicial custody.
The accused were held guilty under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Initially, the Jharkhand Police had dropped the murder charge in the first chargesheet, saying that Ansari had died of a cardiac arrest due to stress and not of injuries. However, after facing criticisms, the Jharkhand Police reinstated murder charges against the 13 accused persons.
