Jharkhand Adivasi lynched to death by mob "chanting" Jai Shri Ram: Fact-finding team

The riverbed, where the incident took place

Counterview Desk
On April 10, 2019, Prakash Lakda, a 50-year old Adivasi of Jurmu village of Gumla’s Dumri block, was lynched to death by a mob of men from the Sahu community of neighbouring Jairagi village. Three other victims from Jurmu – Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj – sustained severe injuries due to the beating by the mob. A fact-finding team of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), comprising of several activists and representatives of member organisations, conducted a fact-finding inquiry into the incident on April 14-15.
The JMM team, consisting of Afzal Anees (United Mili Forum), Bharat Bhushan Choudhary (activist), Saroj Hembram (Jan Sangharsh Samiti), Shadab Ansari (advocate, Human Rights Law Network [HRLN]), Sonal Tiwari (advocate, HRLN), Siraj Dutta (activist), Taramani Sahu (activist) and Ziyaullah (Association for Protection of Civil Rights [APCR]), came up a comprehensive fact-finding report after visiting to Jurmu village, Jurmu Gram Panchayat, Dumri block, Gumla district.
Among those whom it met included the wife, daughter and son of the deceased Prakash Lakda, wife and son of victim Peter Kerketta and several residents of the village, apart from interviewing Dr Khalko, in-charge, Community Health Centre, Dumri, and police officials of the local thana and Investigating Officer R Kumar.

A JJM note:

The team learnt that the four victims, along with other men and children of their village, were carving a dead ox on the bank of a river that flows near their village. The adivasis and other communities (such as Ghasis and Lohras) of this area traditionally eat beef. Some people from Jurmu were told by the owner of the dead ox to carve it for meat and its hide.

Prakash Lakda, who was lynched, Jenirius Minj and Peter Kerketta

While the Adivasis were doing so, they were attacked by a mob of about 35-40 persons from Jairagi. The mob was led by Sandeep Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Sanjay Sahu and his sons. While others managed to flee, Prakash, Peter, Belarius and Janerius were caught by the mob and beaten with lathis.
They were beaten all the way to Jairagi chowk, about a kilometre away from the place where the violence started. The mob chanted slogans of Jai Shri Ram and Jai Bajrang Bali and also forced the victims to chant the slogans. They were beaten for refusing to chant the slogans or not chanting them loud enough. 

After being beaten for around three hours, the victims were dumped by the perpetrators in front of the Dumri police thana at midnight. The perpetrators met the thana police and left. Instead of immediately rushing the victims to a hospital, the police made them wait outside in the cold for around four hours.
By the time they were taken to the local health centre, Prakash had already succumbed to his injuries. The doctor at the centre confirmed that Prakash was brought dead to the health centre and had probably died an hour before reaching the centre.
He also shared that the police in-charge Amit Kumar tried to force him to make an entry in the centre register that Prakash was alive when he was brought to the hospital. However, the doctor refused and noted that Prakash was brought dead.
The actions of the local police raise several questions. While the victims kept saying that they were carving an ox that had died, the police filed an FIR against them and 20-25 unnamed persons of their village on charges of cow slaughter.

Wife of Peter Kerketta, wife and daughter of Prakash Lakda

According to Amit Kumar, the FIR was filed on the basis of the thana chowkidar’s testimony, who was sent to the spot early morning on April 11. Amit Kumar was unable to recall the sequence of events after the lynching and there were several discrepancies between his account and those given by the victims and the doctor at the health centre. Of the seven perpetrators named by the victims, only two were arrested by April 15. 

According to the Adivasis of Jurmu, people of other communities (including Sahus) routinely ask them to take away dead bovines. Dispute over the consumption of bovine meat never took place amongst the different communities of the village in the past.
This is one more incident in the long list of lynchings in Jharkhand. Over the last five years, at least 11 persons (nine Muslims and two Adivasis) were lynched and eight more beaten by mobs in the name of cow protection or over other communal issues. The roles of the local administration and police in most of the cases leave a lot to be desired.

This violence is also an attack on people’s right to eat the food of their choice, which itself endangers the right to life. Beef is one of cheapest sources of proteins available to people in Jharkhand, who suffer from alarming levels of hunger and under-nutrition.
Last year, perpetrators of a mob lynching in Ramgarh and Godda were felicitated by Jayant Sinha, a union minister and Nishikant Dubey a Member of Parliament from the BJP respectively. The current Lok Sabha MP from the constituency of Jurmu, Surarshan Bhagat from BJP, is yet to meet the victims’ families or visit the village. No BJP leader has even condemned the incident till now.

The fact-finding team

The silence of the BJP indicates its tacit approval of the incident. It is another example of the rising intolerance and repression against the Adivasis, Dalits and religious minorities under the BJP rule. It also exposes the plans of the party to polarise votes in the Lok Sabha elections on religious lines.
JJM demands that the government immediately...

1. Withdraws the false case of cow slaughter filed against the Adivasis of Jurmu,
2. arrest all the perpetrators involved in the mob violence and file charges against them under The Scheduled Castes And The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, 
3. Take action against the local police for its long delay in arranging medical treatment for the victims and filing of false case of cow slaughter, 
4. Provide interim compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the deceased’s family and Rs. 10 lakhs each to the injured victims, 
5. Comply with the recent Supreme Court judgement on lynching, 
6. Repeal the Bovine Animal Prohibition of Slaughter Act as it is a direct attack on people’s livelihood and right to eat food of their choice 
7. Protect people’s right to food of one’s choice. 

JJM also demands the opposition mahagathbandhan which has kept quiet on this incidence to rise up to the occasion and stand with the Adivasis. 

The video testimony of the victims, the doctor and the ox-owner:

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Click HERE for full fact-finding report