Sharique Ansar, IndiaTomorrow.net,
Ranchi, July 6: Braving the odd weather, hundreds of people – men and women, young and old – came out on the streets of Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand, protesting against the growing trend of mob lynching. Jharkhand has witnessed about a dozen killings in mob lynching in the last two months.
Under the banner of Sajha Manch (Jharkhand), people marched towards the Raj Bhawan (the residence of state Governor) and submitted a memorandum. They demanded formation of SIT – Special Investigation Team to probe all such incidents of lynching in a time-bound manner and compensation to families of victims. They also demanded that vigilante groups indulged in such divisive and brutal actions must be rounded up.
Last week (28th June), a man named Alimuddin alias Asgar Ansari was beaten to death Ramgarh district. He was accused of carrying beef. According to IANS, a group of people stopped him near Bajartand village and brutally attacked him. His van was set on fire too.
As it was raining in Ranchi today, many protestors, particularly women were holding umbrella with #Not In My Name printed on them. The protestors were from different religious and social backgrounds — they were Christians, Muslims and tribals.
In May, seven people were lynching in one day in Jharkhand over rumours that they were child lifter.
In other states also, incidents of lynching have occurred.
Couple of days before Eid, a young boy named Junaid Khan was lynching in a running train in Haryana.
Dairy farmer Pahlu Khan was lynched by a brutal gang of self-styled Gau Rakshaks in Rajasthan in April this year.
