Eleven, including BJP leader, get life imprisonment for lynching meat trader in Jharkhand

A mob had killed Alimuddin Ansari on charges of carrying of carrying beef in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district on June 29, 2017.

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Ranchi: A fast-track court in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district on Wednesday awarded eleven people, including a BJP leader, life imprisonment for killing a person on charges of carrying beef.

They were held guilty by Judge Om Prakash under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly). The court had convicted them, including BJP`s Nityanand Mahto, on March 16, 2018. The trial was monitored by the Jharkhand High Court.

Mahto, 45, was arrested in July 2017. The chargesheet was filed on September 17, 2017, and the charges were framed on September 22, 2017. At least three who have been convicted, Deepak Mishra, Chhotu Verma and Santosh Singh, are said to be members of the local 'gau raksha samiti'.

During the trial, the prosecutor produced 19 witnesses and 59 documents. As per reports, the evidence included a CD containing video clips and photographs of the lynching that was examined by the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Chandigarh. 

A mob had killed Alimuddin Ansari on charges of carrying of carrying beef in Ramgarh district on June 29, 2017.  The police had taken him to Ramgarh’s Sadar hospital and later he was shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, where he died.

The Jharkhand government had referred the case to a fast-track court under Additional Judge-II. The hearings were almost held on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the defence counsel has said that they would appeal against the judgment in the Jharkhand High Court.

(With Agency inputs)