After having dropped the murder charges in the charge-sheet, the Jharkhand police has now taken a u-turn by reinstating the murder charge against the 11 accused.
The development comes within 48 hours of Shaista Parveen, widow of deceased Tabrez Ansari, threatening to commit suicide by self-immolation if justice was denied to her. On Wednesday, the Jharkhand police filed a supplementary charge-sheet in the case slapping murder charge against all all the 13 accused in the case.
Parveen had threatened to set herself on fire on Monday when it came to light that the police had filed a charge-sheet under section 304 of IPC — culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The incident took place in Dhatkidih village on June 18.
The press release issued by the police said, “The police have filed a supplementary charge sheet under section 302 on Wednesday along with other sections of IPC against previously accused 11 persons as well.”
In the earlier charge sheet, the accused were charged under section 304 and not under 302 of IPC. The press release also mentioned that two other people, Vikram Mandal and Atul Mahli, have been charged under sections 147, 149, 341, 342, 323, 325, 302 and 295 A of the IPC.
In addition, the Jharkhand Police said that in the first chargesheet, “opinion on the cause of death” was kept “reserved” in the viscera report. Regarding including the murder charge under Section 302 of the IPC, police claimed they had “additional evidence” in form of opinion sought from a second medical board of directors, which asserted that Ansari’s death was due to the combined effect of “injury and cardiac arrest”.
This year on June 18, some people had gotten into a fight with Ansari accusing him of trying to steal a bike. After police got information about the same, they reached the spot and rescued him. Police had also recovered the stolen bike and some other items. The Police gave him first aid, subjected him to a medical examination and then submitted the report to the Court, only then he was sent to jail. Three days later, his health deteriorated and he died. Therefore, the Police says it is wrong to claim he died due to mob lynching.
In June this year, the investigation team set up by the district administration to inquire into the matter of Tabrez Ansari’s death has concluded that he could have died as a consequence of stress-induced cardiac arrest. Tabrez Ansari was allegedly brutally beaten by a mob in Jharkhand on the 18th June on the accusation of theft. He had died on 22nd in police custody.
