JH-TABREZ-MURDER CHARGE

Tabrez lynching case: Murder charge back on all accused
    Ranchi, Sep 18 (PTI) Eight days after the Jharkhand
police dropped the murder charge against 11 accused in the mob
lynching case of young Muslim man Tabrez Ansari, they brought
back the same charge on the accused on Wednesday after
obtaining a fresh medical report, an official said here.
    Ansari was seen on national television being beaten up
with rods while tied to a pole and forced to chant 'Jai Shri
Ram' over alleged theft in June.
    Based on a fresh medical report, the police on
Wednesday filed a supplementary charge sheet before a court in
Seraikela-Kharsawan district, retaining Section 302 of the IPC
(murder) against the 11 accused, the official said.
    The police also filed charge sheet against the
remaining two accused charging them with murder after
completing investigation against them.
     The police had on September 10 dropped murder charges
against all the 13 accused in the mob lynching case and
converted it into one of culpable homicide not amounting to
murder (Section 304 of the IPC) on the basis of postmortem,
medical and forensic reports which said 24-year-old Ansari
died of cardiac arrest.
    While the quantum of punishment under Section 302 is
death or imprisonment for life and fine, the penalty under
Section 304 is imprisonment for life or imprisonment for 10
years or fine or both.
    The official said, as the previous medical report
stating that Ansari's death was caused due to cardiac arrest
was not clear, the police took a second opinion of specialist
doctors from the MGM Medical College and Hospital in
Jamshedpur.
    "On the basis of main findings, we opined that (1) The
fracture of bone is grievous injury caused by hard & blunt
object. (2). The combined effect of fracture of bone, pale
organs and heart chambers full of blood resulting into cardiac
arrest," the report by fresh board of doctors said.
    The police also did not find any distortion in the
viral video showing Ansari being beaten up by the accused, the
official said.
    The 13 accused were arrested in connection with the
death of 24-year-old Ansari.
    Ansari worked as a labourer and welder in Pune and had
come home to celebrate Eid when he was captured by locals at
Dhatkidih village on the night of June 17 over suspicion of
trying to steal a motorcycle.
    He was tied to a pole and assaulted by a mob with
sticks and iron rods. A video of the scene that went viral and
was flashed across tv networks showed he was forced to chant
'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' by his tormentors.
    Though there was no evidence of the perpetrators' link
to any Hindu right organisation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad
activists had protested their arrest.
    A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up to look
into the case after Ansari was declared "brought dead" by
doctors at the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur on June 22.
    Two policemen were suspended in connection with the
incident. PTI PVR
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)