mangalore today

2 cops suspended for inaction in Jharkhand lynching case, 4 suspects arrested


Mangalore Today News Network

Jharkhand, Jun 24, 2019 : A special team of Jharkhand police formed to probe the death of a man lynched by villagers has arrested five suspects so far, the Seraikela-Kharsawan district police chief Kartik S said on Monday, Hindustan Times reported.

 

suspended24jun19


An initial probe by the police found that Tabrez Ansari was caught by villagers on suspicions of attempted burglary and mercilessly thrashed by the mob. When he died four days later in jail, Ansari’s family repeated their allegations that the villagers had tied him to a pole and flogged him.

In between, Ansari’s family said, they also forced him to chant Jai Sri Ram and Jai Hanuman before handing him over to the police.

But the police did not act on their complaint. As opposition parties and civil society groups upped the ante, the Jharkhand government moved into damage control mode. The mob lynching also echoed in Parliament on Monday when Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Gulab Nabi Azad mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of “New India”, asserting that he preferred “old India” which had no place for hatred, anger and mob killings.

In a statement issued hours later, the state government said two policemen - the officers in-charge of the local police station and police outpost – had also been suspended for not filing a lynching case on 18 June.

Sub inspector Chandramohan Oraon and assistant sub inspector Bipin Bihari Singh “have been suspended for not reporting the seriousness of the issue on 18 June to higher authorities properly and register a case of lynching the very same day,” the district police chief said in a statement.

According to the government statement, the police had arrested Pappu Mandal, the prime accused named by Ansari’s family in the lynching case. Four more people - Kamal Mahto, Premchand Mahli, Bhim Mandal and Sonamu Pradhan of Daktidih village - were arrested on Monday morning, the state government said.