'When I read in the newspapers that the Alwar trial court had acquitted the cow vigilantes accused of lynching Pehlu Khan – which, to me, had appeared an open and shut case from the newspapers – I was curious to find out on what grounds it had done so. Having worked in the legal field where it is commonly believed that a judge who has written a perfect judgment is yet to be born, I did not expect it to be perfect. But most certainly, I expected to see from a senior judicial officer a judgment on a standard format supported with sound legal principles.
'Three months after the Tabrez Ansari lynching case, which shook the conscience of the nation, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Jharkhand once again witnessed a case of mob lynching on Sunday, September 22. A differently-abled tribal man was killed and two others were seriously injured when a mob allegedly thrashed them on suspicion of slaughtering a cow, in Khunti district of Jharkhand, police confirmed on Monday.
'Communal clashes broke out at Jokaha of West Champaran following manoeuvred incitement by majoritarian antisocial elements. However, the arbitrary arrests, torture and indifference that followed the vicious cycle solely targeted minorities... NewsClick presents a ground report from the region. “As our procession entered the Mazar (mausoleum ground), stones began to be hurled at us …we didn’t know from where it was coming…the peaceful gathering turned into chaos…,” recalls Zumdin Miyan, 60, who has been booked for ‘rioting’ and similar offences.
'Almost a month after an Alwar court pronounced its judgement in the Pehlu Khan lynching case, a similar case is lined up to have its day in court. In this case too, self-styled gau rakshaks, apparently convinced of Muslim men being cattle smugglers, thrashed him to death. Rakbar Khan was killed on the night of July 20, 2018, when he and his friend Aslam Khan were brutally attacked by a mob while they were transporting milch cows on foot to their home in Haryana’s Kolgaon from a village in Alwar...'
'The Jharkhand police has dropped murder charges against the 11 people accused of lynching 22-year-old Tabrez Ansari. Ansari was beaten by a mob who apparently thought he was a thief, and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’ on June 18 this year. He died days later, in police custody. Reports say that the police have used the final post-mortem report, which says Ansari died of “cardiac arrest”, to drop the murder charge. The chargesheet again the 11 now only includes culpable homicide not amounting to murder...'
'In the Bulandshahr violence case, that led to the murder of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh on December 3, 2018, seven accused of killing Singh got bail on the night of August 24, 2019... In a video, which has been doing rounds on social media platforms, one of the key accused, Shikhar Agarwal, a member of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Jeetu Fauji can be seen being garlanded by supporters who were excited to get pictures and selfies clicked with both of them...'
'A police constable was beaten on Friday evening in Vadodara city allegedly by the religious hardliners of the majority community... The victim, Arif Ismail Shaikh (44), said that he was attacked without any provocation when he was travelling back to home at around 8.30 pm. “I made a mistake by not covering my face this time,” said Shaikh, adding that he usually covers his face while stepping out of his home. Shaikh is a constable with the Gujarat Police... The FIR was registered after hours of tussle.
'On April 1 2017, dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was dragged out of the truck in which he was transporting cattle bought from a fair and assaulted by a mob of cow vigilantes on the Jaipur-Delhi highway. The 55-year-old died in hospital. Two years on, the men seen yanking Pehlu Khan by the neck, throwing him to the ground and kicking him repeatedly, have been acquitted by a court in Rajasthan on the benefit of doubt...'
'In yet another case of mob lynching in Bihar, three suspected cattle thieves were beaten to death in a village in Saran district in the early hours of Friday, July 19. Four suspected cattle thieves were allegedly caught by an angry mob in Pithori Nandlal village under Baniyapur police station in Saran when the victims were on their way in a pick up van to purchase cattle. While three of them were beaten to death, the fourth victim sustained serious injuries and is battling for his life in the government hospital.
'A Tihar Jail undertrial was branded an ‘Om’ symbol [considered holy by the Hindus] on his back which, allegedly was the handiwork of a jail superintendent who used hot metal for carving. Nabbir, an undertrial prisoner at the Tihar jail, told his family that he was branded with an Om symbol and was not fed for two days. He said that he was subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment by jail superintendent Rajesh Chauhan. After his family informed his counsel, the counsel moved an application in the court.
