3 July 2024: The country, and particularly Jharkhand, continues to witness incidents of mob lynching, especially against Muslims. On Sunday, Mohammad Shahabuddin, an imam from Barkatha, Hazaribagh, was beaten to death after an accident, allegedly due to his beard and cap, before he could reach the hospital, reports eNewsroom.
Shahabuddin’s wife, Asgari Khatoon, a resident of Raghuniodih, filed a complaint at Barkatha police station detailing the incident. According to her account, on the morning of June 30, Shahabuddin (52) was returning home on his motorbike from his mosque in Basramo, Barkatha. Near Katia, he accidentally hit a woman, Anita Devi, causing injuries to her hand and nose. Anita, who lived nearby, called for her family and some local youths, including her husband Mahendra Yadav and brother-in-law Ramdev Yadav, who were playing cricket in a nearby field. They allegedly beat Shahabuddin with sticks and rods, leading to his death.
Asgari Khatoon included a 10-second video clip in her FIR, where police officers Rajesh Bhogta and SI Ramesh Hajam are heard saying, “He’s the one who did the beating; catch him.”
The FIR was filed at Barkatha police station on July 2.
Shahabuddin’s elder son, Mohammad Parvez, recounted to eNewsroom, “He had a deep wound on his head, his eye was black and swollen, and blood was flowing from his nose. There were no visible injuries on other parts of his body. It seemed he was hit hard on the head with a bat or a wicket.”
Parvez further mentioned, “The most significant aspect of this incident is that he was beaten severely because of his beard and cap, with no consideration for his age. We also received information that the woman did not sustain severe injuries.”
CPI(ML) MLA Vinod Singh told eNewsroom, “Given that the woman is a direct witness, the police should first question her. Since an FIR has been lodged, those named should also be interrogated.”
However, the police are treating the incident as an accident.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer Surjit Kumar informed eNewsroom, “The Superintendent of Police and I personally visited the scene and spoke with the woman. This was a road accident, and Shahabuddin was not wearing a helmet. His bike slipped on a sharp turn, causing injuries to both him and the woman. Nearby children reported he was on the phone at the time. The police were already near the site and reached immediately. If it had been a mob lynching, we would have encountered a crowd. The video mentions someone saying ‘he did the beating,’ referring to an auto driver who might have caused the accident.”
Meanwhile, the social organization Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha tweeted, demanding the case be treated as mob lynching based on religious grounds. They tagged Chief Ministers Champai Soren and Hemant Soren, urging for just action.
This incident marks the seventh mob lynching in the first month of the third term of the BJP-led NDA government, following similar occurrences in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
