Video grab of Tabrez Ansari (24) who was beaten to death in Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. (Twitter)

Eram Agha News18.com

Updated on: September 18, 2019, 5:24 PM IST

September 18, 2019, 5:24 PM IST FOLLOW US ON: Facebook Twitter Instagram

New Delhi: A select group of members of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing for a fresh probe into the mob lynching case of Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand.

Last week, Jharkhand Police had scaled down charges — from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder — against the 11 accused in the lynching case of Ansari. The police defended its investigation on the grounds of “probe and medical report.”


Signed by 16 faculty members, and 85 students and non-teaching staff, the letter to the PM said, “We, the undersigned faculty, staff and students of IIM Bangalore express shock and dismay over how Jharkhand police has handled the lynching of Mr Tabrez Ansari.”

Appealing for a fresh probe, the letter read, “We urge you to act swiftly and decisively by directing the state government to institute a fresh probe. It is the constitutional duty of the state to protect the life and liberty of all citizens.”


One of the faculty members, Professor Trilochan Sastry of the Decision Sciences Area, IIM Bangalore, who is also the chairman of non-profit organisation named Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said, "Some of us concerned faculty members and students have written to the PM on the way the Ansari case was probed. As citizens we have a duty and right to raise our voice on things that come to our notice. It should be re-investigated.”

24-year-old Ansari was seen on national television being beaten up with rods while tied to a pole and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ over an alleged theft.


Following the incident, the Seraikela-Kharsawan district police had charged 11 of the 13 named accused in the case on July 29, dropping the stringent charge of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

All 11 of them will now face the law for lesser offence under Section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).