india

Updated: Sep 10, 2019 16:00 IST

Police in Jharkhand have dropped murder charges against 11 men accused of lynching 24-year-old Tabrez Aalam Ansari in June after evidence showed the “incident was not pre-mediated murder”, officials said on Tuesday.

Tabrez Ansari was lynched to death on June 17 after being forced to chant Jai Sri Ram and Jai Hanuman for allegedly stealing a motorcycle in Dahtkidih village under Seraikela police station (PS) in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Saraikela-Kharsawan’s superintendent of police Kartik S said it was concluded that the “incident was not pre-mediated murder based on autopsy reports and other evidence in the case”. The final post-mortem report pointed out that Ansari died due to a cardiac arrest and a haemorrhage in his head was not fatal.

“We have, therefore, converted Section 302 (murder) into Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and the chargesheet was filed against the 11 accused of committing offences under Section 304 and others of the IPC (Indian Penal Code),” the senior official said.

“There is not much difference between the two sections. While Section 302 drags a maximum penalty of death (capital punishment), Section 304 drags a maximum punishment of life imprisonment,” he said.

Kartik also said another chargesheet against two other accused, who had surrendered in a court, will be filed in a few days.

Tabrez Ansari was caught by villagers on June 17 while he was allegedly attempting to burgle a house in Dhatkidh along with two of his associates. The other two managed to escape but Ansari was caught and beaten up mercilessly by the villagers.

Villagers had handed him over to the police after they reached the spot around 6am on June 18 and Ansari was then brought to the Seraikela Sadar Hospital. After primary treatment, he was produced in the court and sent to Seraikela jail the same day. He was kept in the medical ward of the jail till he felt sick on June 22 and was again brought to SSH where he died during treatment on June 22.

Seraikela-Kharsawan civil surgeon and superintendent of Seraikela Sadar Hospital (SSH) Dr Himanshu Bhusan Barwar had earlier said the forensic report of Ansari’s viscera showed he did not die of poisoning.

“The viscera report stated that there was no poisoning and the death was sudden. The multiple body injuries and bruises and even the skull fracture were not adequate to cause death. But these injuries might have triggered acute stress leading to sudden cardiac arrest of Tabrez,” Dr Bariyal Mardi, deputy superintendent of SSH, had told the HT in July.

“The report has also mentioned that the skull fracture and subsequent subarachnoid haemorrhage didn’t result in a focal neurological deficit,” Dr Mardi said.

Mardi had said the report underlined the fact that the skull fracture and haemorrhage didn’t lead to Ansari going to coma and he died on June 22, four days after he was beaten up by the villagers.