After the mob lynching incident of Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, where 17-year-old Rupesh Pandey was murdered by an Islamist mob during the Saraswati Visarjan, instead of punishing the culprits, the state govt is taking action against Hindu groups protesting against the murder and demanding justice. The Jharkhand Police has now registered an FIR against the protesters who had organised a candle march in Chatra condemning the murder.
Thousands of people including the members of Bharatiya Janata Party, BJYM, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vishwas Hindu Parishad have been protesting the brutal killing of Pandey. In Jamua of Giridih, Vishwa Hindu Parishad protested against the murder and demanded capital punishment for the killers of Rupesh Pandey.
Meanwhile, the youth in Chatra had taken out a candle march on February 10 and demanded the government action against the culprits. The youths involved in the rally had said that the state government was giving protection to the accused of mob lynching and warned that if strict action is not taken against the culprits, the protests would be more aggressive.
Alok Kumar, Ankit Pandey, Baijnath Yaduvanshi, Bhavani Roy, Pintu Kumar, Rajkumar, Santosh Kumar, Satish Pandey, Umesh Bharti, Rajesh Ram, Himanshu Gupta, Kanhai Pandey, Rajdeep Pandey and Uttam Pandey who were a part of candle march protest in Chatra have specifically been named in the FIR.
The Police officials have charged them under section 147 (nuisance or rioting) and section, 188 (violation of government instructions during the pandemic) of IPC in addition to section 51 (Disobeying government orders during disaster) of the Disaster Management Act (NDMA) and Section 3 of the Epidemic Act.
BJYM says govt, police trying to cover up the case-
BJYM leader Suman Saurav while talking exclusively to OpIndia said that the protest rally in Chatra was huge and banners demanding justice for Rupesh Pandey were established all over the city. “Many Hindu organisations had participated in the rally. They questioned the government about the law and order in the state. The protest was not at all violent and hence the Police was also silent during the march. But the next day we were informed that an FIR has been registered”, he added.
Suman Saurav said that the protest march was conducted peacefully, and even the police didn’t object to it. But on the next day, the case was filed for organising the march by the police.
He stated that the Hindus have often been targeted by Chatra Police and SHO Luv Kumar Singh. “Candle marches, protests have been organized in various cities of Jharkhand. BJYM wants the matter to be heard in fast track court and capital punishment must be given to the culprits. We have also lodged complaint to the NCPCR”, he said adding that a govt job and compensation of Rs 50 lakh must be given to the family of Rupesh Pandey.
It is important to note that a crime report has been registered against 27 accused Muslims and 5 of them have been arrested so far in the case. Suman Saurav has further said that the Police is looking at the murder as some small fight and is trying to cover up the case. The matter should be looked upon as a severe ‘mob lynching’ act and the govt should also extend its helping had to the victim’s family, he added.
Muslim women had teased unconscious Rupesh, said “He’s alive, probably not beaten properly”
It is reported that Rupesh Pandey was an intermediate student and was working part-time in a mobile shop to support the family expenses. His brother died long back due to snake bite leaving Rupesh alone to look after his family. Rupesh’s mother who works in a women’s committee and father who is a small scale farmer are worried about the murder case as they say the matter can escalate to the Supreme Court.
According to Rupesh’s parents, they don’t see the case resolved at the earliest as it pertains to mob lynching by Muslims. BJYM leader said that they have initiated collecting funds via crowdfunding to help the family of Rupesh.
Reports mention that the Muslim women of Hazaribagh who witnessed the murder of Rupesh Pandey were passing intimidating comments on the victim. When Rupesh was being admitted to the hospital, the women said, “He’s alive, probably not beaten properly”.
The BJYM held the protests in the entire state under the leadership of former CM Babulal Marandi. It has also led the initial talks with the state governor Ramesh Bais and demanded justice in the case. Accusing the state government of ignoring the matter, Suman Saurav said that the protest is not only from the political party, but even the public wants justice.
‘Either hang them or give them to me, I will kill them’, Rupesh Pandey’s mother demands capital punishment for killers of her son
Earlier, Rupesh’s mother had demanded justice for her minor son’s brutal murder. She had demanded that the culprits be hanged. “I don’t want anything else, simply return my son to me. They have taken away the apple of our eye. We cannot bear the loss, we are going crazy. So far, no concrete action has been taken by the police. I’m alone. My son was my only hope. I do not keep well. Somehow we were making ends meet”, she had said.
She recalled receiving a call from a doctor on the day of the incident, informing her that her son was lying unconscious. When she arrived, the cops refused to let her see Rupesh, she claimed. Remembering her minor son, Rupesh’s mother had said brusquely, “Either hang the culprits or give them to me. I will kill them. Just like they tortured and brutally hacked my son to death, I would kill them too”.
What does the FIR read?
The initial report filed by Anil Kumar Pandey, Rupesh’s uncle narrates the exact episode of Rupesh’s murder. According to the report, Rupesh was sitting in the mobile shop at around 5 pm on February 5. Some of his friends invited him to the Saraswati puja. Suddenly the Muslim crowd led by Aslam Ansari alias Pappu Miya approached Pandey and started beating him.
The crowd also consisted of Muslim women. The mob attacked Pandey and sat on him so he could not escape, the report mentioned. The accused named in this case are – Aslam Ansari, Mohammad Naushad, Mohammad Kaif, Mohammad Gufran, Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Osama, Mohammad Ehtam, Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Sonu.
Mohammad Faisal, Mohammad Shahbaz, Rabbani Miyan, Mohammad Ashiq, Mohammad Jashid, Mohammad Ashiq. , Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Salman alias Bhale, Mohammad Chhote, Mohammad Istekhar, Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Hassan, Mohd Anees and Mohd Naushad have also been mentioned as accused in the report.
