The twelfth accused, a juvenile, is yet to face action, but the prosecution has sought his trial as an adult.
Ramgarh: A fast-track court in Jharkhand on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment 11 ‘cow vigilantes’ who lynched a man here last year.
The order came a day after victim Alimuddin Ansari’s family told ThePrint that they were worried if they would be safe after the sentencing.
The 11, including the BJP’s local media in-charge Nityanand Mahto, were earlier convicted by the court for lynching Ansari in June 2017 on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car.
The twelfth accused, a juvenile, is yet to face action, but the prosecution has sought his trial as an adult on the grounds that he is aged over 16 years and “was aware of the impact of his actions”. This plea is pending with the court.
The Jharkhand lynching was one among a spate of similar episodes reported from across the country where people were beaten up or killed on the mere suspicion of carrying beef or smuggling cows for slaughter.
The incidents often carried out by right-wing fanatics, had brought the BJP-led central government under severe heat from the opposition and civil society members for “standing by” as minorities were harassed in the name of cow protection. Of the 28 killed in cow vigilante attacks between 2010 and 2017, 24 were Muslims.
Wednesday’s order was the first instance of the perpetrators being sentenced to life imprisonment in such a case. However, asked if the verdict would serve as precedent for the other cases, Faizan Mustafa, a law professor, said he was sceptical.
“It’s remarkable that in a BJP-ruled state, police and prosecution could get a conviction so soon. But it’s only a lower court. Nothing will happen to these people; they will immediately appeal,” he said.
The defence lawyers in the Ramgarh case have already indicated that they will be challenging the verdict in a higher court.
Pappu Banerjee, the district president of the BJP in Ramgarh, earlier told ThePrint, “This is an inaccurate verdict. All the people are innocent…but it’s not the ultimate court, we will challenge this verdict in all higher courts.”
By all means, the judgment should be challenged, all the way up to the apex court. However, the balance of judicial convenience lies in the convicts not being granted bail.