Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has created a political storm on Friday when he felicitated eight men by garlanding them, who are convicted in Ramgarh lynching case at his residence on the outskirts of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.
The life sentences handed to the eight men, including a BJP functionary, was suspended by the High Court and they walked out of the jail and headed straight to the residence of Jayant Sinha, where the minister felicitated them.
What is the Ramgarh Lynching Case ?
On 29 June 2017, A meat trader in Jharkhand, Alimuddin Ansari, was dragged out of his car and beaten to death by a mob that suspected he was carrying beef. The 55 year old laid dying on a road in Ramgarh town, his car was also set on fire. Forensic tests later confirmed that the meat he was carrying was beef.
The lynching by the self-styled cow vigilantes had come just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called “killing people in the name of cow protection unacceptable”.
The Jharkhand government ordered the police to quickly probe the case and sent it to a fast track court. The court gave its verdict on 21 March this year on the basis of a statement by Alimuddin’s wife Mariam Khatoon.
The police also came across a video that showed BJP’s media in-charge, Nityanand Mahto dragging Alimuddin Ansari out of the car near Ranchi.
A total of 11 men, including a local BJP leader, were sentenced to a life term for beating Alimuddin to death.
However, the convicts went to Jharkhand High Court from where eight of them got bail on June 29, exactly a year after the incident.
The Youth Congress has called the incident “Unbelievably Shameful”
Unbelievably shameful!
27 people in 10 states have fallen victim to lynching and here we have a BJP lawmaker @jayantsinha happily welcoming lynching convicts with sweets and garlands! What kind of a representative of the people are you? #SaveIndia #BharatBachao pic.twitter.com/c7Pup8wO1a
— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) July 6, 2018