A COURT SENTENCES TEN MEN TO A DECADE IN PRISON

(Jantakareporter)

Recently, a court in India sentenced 10 men to a decade each in prison for lynching a Muslim man, who was tortured to death after being forced to chant Hindu religious slogans four years ago.

The young man by name Tabrez Ansari, 24 years, was tied to an electricity pole and tortured in an interval of 12 hours by a mob in June 2019 after being accused of breaking into a house and stealing a motorbike in the eastern state of Jharkhand.

Videos from the assault showed Ansari being forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' (hail Lord Ram) and ‘Jai Hanuman’ (hail Hanuman) – religious slogans appropriated by Hindu hardliners – while he pleaded for his life.

Despite Ansari chanting the slogan, the mob kept assaulting him through the night. The local police arrested Ansari the next day for theft.

He complained of nausea and chest pain on 22 June and was transferred to a hospital where he surrendered to death due to his injuries.

(photo credit: bbc)

The video of the assault triggered public outrage in India, forcing law enforcement officials to arrest 13 Hindu men. Two of the accused were later acquitted due to lack of evidence and one reportedly died during the trial.

The remaining 10 were convicted last week by a trial court on charges of "apparent homicide not amounting to murder". Additional District Judge (One) Amit Shekhar implemented the 10-year rigorous prison sentences on Wednesday with a fine of Rs 15,000 (£142) each.

The police were severely criticisized for failing to invoke stringent murder charges and taking swift action against the accused. The incident triggered a political row in Jharkhand, with the opposition accusing prime minister Narendra Modi in parliament of being silent on a series of abuses on minorities in India.

An Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi described the incident as dishumanity.Mr Modi, who is the leader of Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, later said he was “pained” by the lynching and the guilty must be severely punished.

In to turn of events, Ansari's family said they will file an appeal in Jharkhand high court for increasing the quantum of punishment for the convicts.

“We had demanded punishment under Section 302 (culpable homicide amounting to murder) but the court overruled it and changed it to 304 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) on the plea that the injured victim had died after four days," Altaf Hussain, the lawyer for the family, was quoted by local daily The Telegraph as saying.

“We will appeal against it in the high court as he was mercilessly beaten throughout the night with the intention of murder and would like the quantum of punishment increased to life imprisonment."

Critics have accused Mr Modi’s government of ignoring attacks on minorities, which have been reportedly on a rise since the Hindu nationalist leader became the prime minister in 2014. Similar incidents of lynchings in India had been occuring where Muslims have been attacked by "cow vigilantes" over rumours that they had eaten beef, or smuggled cows.

Slaughtering a cow is deemed illegal in many Indian states as the animal is considered holy to Hindus.

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