New Delhi: “They slaughter cows. They are Muslims, don’t spare them.”
At around 12 pm on 18 June 2018, the perpetrators, armed with weapons, met with a common objective at Bajhera Khurd village, and assaulted Samaydeen and Mohammed Qasim. They killed Qasim and injured Samaydeen grievously in an attempt to kill him, and spread a rumour that the two men were slaughtering cows — this is what a sessions court noted as it handed down life sentences to 10 accused in the 2018 Hapur mob lynching case.
On Tuesday, the Hapur court convicted 10 men — Yudhisthir Dayal, Rakesh, Kanu, Sonu, Mangeram, Rinku, Hari Om, Manish Singh, Lalit, and Karanpal — on charges of murder, attempt to murder, unlawful assembly and spreading enmity between religious groups.
The convictions come almost six years after Qasim, 45, a cattle trader from Pilkhuwa, was lynched by a group of cow vigilantes. Samaydeen, a farmer from Madhapur, tried to intervene but was also assaulted by the perpetrators.
The autopsy report, which the court took note of, stated that Qasim had 18 serious injuries. Nails and screws were used to pierce his body.
The court pronounced its verdict after four rounds of final arguments. In the past, three judges had been transferred before the judgment was to be pronounced. In court, the families of the victims said they don’t want the death penalty for the accused as they seek justice, not revenge.
All accused had claimed that they were somewhere else at the time of the incident. Moreover, they said Samaydeen had pinned the blame on them due to “personal rivalry”.
The prosecution lined up 23 witnesses to testify in court.
Initial FIR of ‘road rage’, and SC’s intervention
Initially, the Hapur police had lodged an FIR calling it an incident of “road rage” after a motorcycle hit Samaydeen when he was with Qasim — contrary to the preceding general diary entry at the local police station, which didn’t mention a motorcycle or road rage.
It was only after the Supreme Court intervened, on Samaydeen’s appeal, that the 65-year-old’s statement was recorded before a magistrate, and the apex court in September 2018 directed the inspector general of police to submit a report.
The top court directed that the trial be completed in accordance with the guidelines issued in the Tehseen S. Poonawalla vs Union of India case which warrant that in cases of lynching and mob violence, trial be completed within six months. A charge sheet was filed in November 2018.
That same year, a photograph, believed to be of Qasim being beaten and dragged by a mob in the presence of police personnel, went viral. The Uttar Pradesh Police issued an apology and three police personnel were suspended.
Questions court raised
Based on the submissions made by both the prosecution and the defence, the Hapur court, while adjudicating, raised several questions.
These included — If the accused attacked the two Muslim men with the intention of killing them and if the witnesses statements on this are reliable, if there is any ambiguity and discrepancy regarding the identification of the accused? If the prosecution has been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, will the defence’s plea of alibi and other arguments benefit the accused? Does the “extrajudicial” confession of Rakesh presented by the prosecution have admissibility and weight in evidence or not?
In reference to the police’s initial narration of the incident calling it “road rage”, the court also noted that in the entire course of the investigation, the name of any motorcyclist, the number of the motorcycle, was not mentioned. It also observed that it isn’t possible that the injuries sustained by Qasim and Samaydeen were due to one or two pedestrians colliding with a motorcycle. The injuries support the prosecution’s version that the mob unanimously assaulted the deceased, it added.
“These Muslims slaughter cows, kill them,” said Samaydeen in court, narrating what the cow vigilantes said and how they assaulted him and Qasim.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: IAS officer lynched by mob. 30 yrs on, a statue, angry cadre, and a smiling CM with the killer