The first death in the violence in Khargone on Ramnavami has been reported with the body of Ibris Khan alias Saddam (30) being handed over to his family in the wee hours of Monday, a week after his death at Indore MY Hospital.
Home Minister Narottam Mishra has confirmed the death and said that a case of murder has been registered. The district administration announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the family.
The family of the deceased has, however, raised questions on the delay in information about his death.
Ibris’s brother, Akhlaq, told a section of media that his brother was last seen in police custody in an injured condition on April 10, when he went missing.
“He had gone to Anand Nagar mosque to deliver Iftari (food items to break the fast) on April 10 evening where he was brutally attacked by swords and stones by people whom I don’t know. People saw him being taken away in a police vehicle. He was there for sometime in the police station and then went missing. He has been brutally killed; there are sword injuries on his head and his eye was also damaged. The police did not tell us anything about him for eight days,” Akhlaq said.
The family had filed a missing person complaint at Khargone Kotwali police station on April 14 and had been looking for him in different districts and mortuaries.
The home minister, however, said that “The dead body was found on April 10 and the postmortem was conducted on April 11. On the basis of postmortem, case of murder (under section 302 of Indian Penal Code) was registered. However, the body could not be identified then and also there was no immediate missing [person] report. Then the family filed a missing complaint of Ibris alias Saddam Khan and they were asked to identify the body. After identification, the body was handed over to them and the last rites were performed today. The matter is under investigation. Action will be taken against perpetrators,” the home minister told the media.
Till now, there had only been reports of one serious injury in Ramnavami violence in Khargone—that of 16-year-old Shubham Shukla. Shukla is undergoing treatment in Indore and the state government has taken the entire financial responsibility for his treatment.
The delayed revelation of Ibris’s death comes even as the Madhya Pradesh Police faces allegations of filing false FIRs against Muslim men regarding Ramnavami violence in Sendhwa of Barwani as well as Khargone. While FIR for rioting was allegedly registered against three youths who were lodged in jail since the past month, in Khargone, FIRs were lodged against one youth who was hospitalised on the day of violence while another was away in Karnataka delivering some goods. Police in both places have said that no action would be taken against innocent people, and FIRs will be changed on the basis of evidence.
BJP conspiracy to divert attention: Kamal Nath
Meanwhile, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath said that the incidents of communal violence in various parts of the country were part of a BJP conspiracy to divert attention from price rise and unemployment.
“I have repeatedly said that this is against the culture of our country. Our culture is to keep the country united. Such violence is not only dangerous for a district or a state, but for the entire country,” Kamal Nath said. When asked about the Ibris Khan issue, Kamal Nath said that the BJP government now just has money, police and administration left as people are already against it.
