Jamiat seeks CBI probe into lynching of Tabrez Ansari

The Tabrez Ansari lynching case refuses to die down. Close on the heels of reports of the Delhi Wakf Board announcing a compensation of Rs.5 lakh to the widow of Ansari besides a job, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has filed a criminal writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court on behalf of Ansari’s family seeking registration of a criminal case against policemen and doctors in the lynching tragedy.

Ansari was brutally assaulted by a mob on June 18 on suspicion of bike theft in Saraikela-Kharswan district. On finding out that he was a Muslim, the mob that included a local BJP leader forced him to chant slogans of Jai Shri Ram and Jai Hanuman. The police reached the spot the next morning and took him to the nearest police station. He was given first aid and produced before the court and sent to jail on a complaint of theft.

The police did not file any complaint against the attackers nor did it try to get Ansari the needed medical attention after the first aid. Finally, on June 22, when his condition deteriorated, they took him to a hospital, where he passed away shortly after. Ansari’s death led to a national uproar, which forced the police to lodge a case against the attackers. Eleven people were arrested and two policemen were suspended.

In its writ petition, the Jamiat has sought a CBI inquiry under the watch of a retired judge of the High Court. It said the CBI should submit its report in the High Court and demanded that the guilty policemen and doctors be tried in a fast-track court. Also, it sought the registration of an FIR against the Jail Superintendent and the doctors at the district civil hospital who did not give timely medical care to Ansari.

The Jamiat also urged the court to order the State government to set up a fast-track court keeping in mind the Supreme Court order of July 2018. All cases of mob lynching in the State should be transferred to the fast-track court, it demanded.