In Jharkhand lynching case, actions of police officials ‘raise several questions,’ reports fact-finding team

Prakash Lakda, a 50-year old Adivasi belonging to Jurmu village of Gumla’s Dumri block in Jharkhand, was lynched to death by a mob of men from the Sahu community of the neighboring Jairagi village on April 10, 2019. Now, a fact-finding team that investigated the incident has stated in its report that police authorities not only made Prakash and three other victims wait outside in the cold for hours when they were brought to the police station after being beaten up, but also tried to get doctors to make an entry in the register stating that Prakash was alive when he was brought to the hospital.

A press conference was held on April 18, 2019, by the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha comprising of several activists and representatives of member organizations, and was addressed Afzal Anees, Bharat Bhushan Choudhary, Saroj Hembrom, Shadab Ansri, Taramani Sahu and Ziaullah.

According to a fact-finding report released at the press conference, three other victims from Jurmu, namely, Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj, sustained severe injuries while being attacked by the mob. An inquiry into the incident was carried out by the Mahasabha’s fact-finding team, comprising of several activists on April 14-15, 2019. The team learnt that the four victims, along with other men and children of their village, were carving a dead ox on the bank of a river that flows near their village. According to the report, Adivasis and other communities (such as Ghasis and Lohras) of this area traditionally eat beef. Some people from Jurmu were told by the owner of the dead ox to carve the animal for meat as well as for its hide. While the Adivasis were doing so, they were attacked by a mob of about 35-40 people from the neighboring village of Jairagi.

The mob was led by Sandeep Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Sanjay Sahu and his sons. While the others managed to flee, Prakash, Peter, Belarius and Janerius were caught by the mob and beaten with lathis. They were beaten all the way to Jairagi chowk, about a kilometre away from the place where the violence had initially started, all the while with the mob chanting slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Bajrang Bali,” which they forced the victims to chant as well. The victims were beaten if they refused to chant the slogans, or did not chant them loud enough.

After being beaten for around three hours, the victims were dumped by the perpetrators in front of the Dumri police station (thaana) sometime around midnight. The perpetrators met the station’s police officials and left. However, instead of immediately rushing the victims to a hospital, the police made them wait outside in the cold for around four hours. By the time they were taken to the local health center, Prakash had already succumbed to his injuries. The doctor at the center confirmed that Prakash was brought dead to the health center and had probably died an hour before reaching the center.

The doctor also shared that Amit Kumar, the police in-charge, had tried to force him to make an entry in the center register stating that Prakash was alive when he was brought to the hospital. However, the doctor refused and noted that Prakash was brought dead.

“The actions of the local police raise several questions. While the victims kept saying that they were carving an ox that had died, the police filed an FIR against them and 20-25 unnamed persons of their village on charges of cow slaughter. According to Amit Kumar, the FIR was filed on the basis of the thana chowkidar’s testimony, who was sent to the spot early morning on April 11.”

Amit Kumar was unable to recall the sequence of events after the lynching and there were several discrepancies between his account and those given by the victims and the doctor at the health center. Currently, of the seven perpetrators named by the victims, only two have been arrested as of April 15, 2019.

According to the Adivasis of Jurmu, people of other communities (including Sahus) routinely ask them to take away dead bovines, and disputes over the consumption of bovine meat had never taken place among different communities of the village in the past.

This is one more incident in the long list of lynchings in Jharkhand. Over the last five years, at least 11 persons (nine Muslims and two Adivasis) have been lynched and eight more people have been beaten by mobs in the name of cow protection or over other communal issues. “The roles of the local administration and police in most of the cases leave a lot to be desired,” stated the report. “This violence is also an attack on people’s right to eat the food of their choice, which itself endangers the right to life. Beef is one of cheapest sources of proteins available to people in Jharkhand, who suffer from alarming levels of hunger and under-nutrition.”

Last year, perpetrators of a mob lynching in Ramgarh and Godda were felicitated by Jayant Sinha, a union minister, and Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP. The current Lok Sabha MP from the constituency of Jurmu, Surarshan Bhagat from the BJP, is yet to meet the victims’ families or visit the village.  No BJP leader has condemned the incident till now. “The silence of the BJP indicates its tacit approval of the incident It is another example of the rising intolerance and repression against the Adivasis, Dalits and religious minorities under the BJP rule. It also exposes the plans of the party to polarize votes in the Lok Sabha elections on religious lines,” concluded the report.