The trial in the Tabrez Ansari lynching case is yet to begin. Ansari’s family says for justice to be done, not only should the guilty be punished, the law should also be made stricter so that no other Tabrez dies a brutal death.
“If there is no strict law, then such an incident can happen to another Tabrez Ansari. Till when will we suffer like this?” Maulana Mohammad Masroor Alam, the uncle of Tabrez Ansari, told The Quint.
“Miscreants need to think twice before committing such a crime,” he added.
On 17 June, Tabrez Ansari was accused of theft, tied to a pole, forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’, and thrashed mercilessly for at least seven hours in Seraikela-Kharsawan in Jharkhand. Five days later, on 22 June, he succumbed to his injuries while still in police custody.
On 10 September, The Quint reported that the Jharkhand police had dropped Section 302 which deals with murder, in the Tabrez Ansari case.
But after intense pressure from the media and civil society, the Jharkhand police reinstated the murder charge on 18 September.
‘Want All Accused to Be Charged With Murder’: Ansari’s Wife
An aggrieved Shahista Parveen who had married Ansari barely three months before he was killed, stated that she wants strict punishment for the accused.
“I want all of the accused to be charged under section 302. The police told us that this had been done, but it is not true. The main accused hasn’t been charged with murder. I just want all of them to be rightly accused of murder and get the strictest punishment that they deserve,” Parveen told The Quint.
Agreeing with Parveen, Alam said, “Earlier, the accused were charged with section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and not 302 (punishment) despite the fact the video showed how badly he was beaten with people shouting hateful and provocative slogans to beat him to death.”
He said that the primary issue is that the main accused, Prakash Mandal alias Pappu Mandal is still charged under Section 304.
Tabrez Ansari’s family said that they are grateful to the civil society and the media for putting pressure on the police to reinstate the murder charge.
They said that civil society organisations have helped them throughout the case.
Alam said that it was only after the immense pressure on the police through the protests and reports that they took action and the accused were arrested.
“After the news of his death went viral all over social media, including WhatsApp, United Against Hate (a civil society group) contacted me and I recounted the whole incident to them. Activists held protests in India and abroad, and I am thankful for that,” said Alam.
“I want more protests to be carried out so that my voice reaches people and more pressure builds on the government to take action.”Mohammad Masroor Alam, Tabrez Ansari’s uncle
The police had filed a supplementary charge sheet, in which they said that they initially dropped the murder charge on the basis of the post-mortem report but added it after they found out that the viral video of the lynching was not tampered with.
Alam Calls for Capital Punishment
Talking about the punishment to the perpetrators, Ansari’s uncle explicitly stated, “I demand that all the accused should be hanged.”
Citing the unabated rise in mob lynchings in the country, he said, “There are so many mob lynching stories that come up every day. 50-100 people catch hold of an innocent person, tie him up and beat him to death, be it on the allegations of exporting beef, robbery, child-lifting rumours, communal tensions or making the victim shout Jai Shri Ram or Jai Hanuman.”
Alam said that the incidents are not only maligning the image of Jharkhand but also India.
“We are ashamed. India is ashamed. To see the downfall of the country that we love. The government should understand this.”Mohammad Masroor Alam, Tabrez Ansari’s uncle
Earlier, Altaf Hussain, Parveen's lawyer told ANI that the medical report had clearly showed that there was a fracture on the skull, while the complaint said that he died of a heart attack.
Alam pointed out that at a time like this, there needs to be a collective fight against oppression lest complicity becomes the order of the day.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)