Jharkhand mob lynching: Adivasis protest police 'inaction', FIR against victims

Counterview Desk
The Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JJM), a civil rights network, on Monday sponsored a protest against the police action against the Adivasi victims of the lynching which took on April 10, 2019, in Jurmu village of Dumri block in Gumla district of Jharkhand. The incident led the death of Prakash Lakda, aged 50.
Three other victims from Jurmu – Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj – sustained severe injuries due to the beating by the mob.
Lynched by men from the neighbouring Jairagi village, Jurmu residents, ever since the incident, are being threatened by people from Jairagi, a JJM statement alleges, regretting, the police is not acting against those responsible for what happened on April 10.

A JJM note on the protest:

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 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.
On May 31, 2019, Kendriya Jan Sangharsh Samiti organised a protest against the violence and administrative inaction. Despite this protest, the police has failed to take any action against the perpetrators of the Dumri lynching. The police has in fact charged the surviving victims of the lynching with cow slaughter.
To once again protest against the continued injustice, the Jan Sangharsh Samiti organized a protest today in front of the office of the Gumla Deputy Commissioner. The protest was attended by hundreds of people from not only Gumla, but also from the nearby districts of Ranchi and Latehar.
Today’s protest began with Albert Tigga from the Jan Sangharsh Samiti briefly recollecting the incident of lynching and the fact finding of the incidence and protests against the violence and administrative inaction. The fact finding team clearly established that the owner of the dead ox requested the victims and others of Jurmu village to carve the dead ox. While carving the dead ox, the villagers were attacked by a mob of 35-40 persons from Jairagi village and beaten for hours.
Ashutosh Rahul Tirkey shared that instead of taking action against the perpetrators of violence, the police filed a FIR against the Adivasi victims of the lynching. Further, the Gumla district court has rejected the anticipatory bail filed for these victims.
The court order clarifies that the police did not include the testimonies of the residents of Jurmu in the case diary. Even the testimony of the dead ox owner has not been recorded properly by the police. The facts have been recorded in a distorted manner in favor of the perpetrators of lynching.
Villagers from Jurmu said that since the lynching, residents of Jurmu are being threatened by people from Jairagi. On the advice of the local administration, residents of Jurmu stopped supplying mud to a brick kiln being operated by a resident of Jairagi.
In retaliation, the brick kiln owner threatened residents of Jurmu with the comment “khoon ki nadiyan baha denge” (will flow rivers of blood). Moreover, Adivasi children from Jurmu are denied water from a public hand pump at Jairagi chowk.
Social activist Ashok Verma said that on June 17, another person was lynched, this time a Muslim in Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. Like in case of Dumri, this victim was also forced to say “jai shree ram” and “jai hanuman”.

This is the 18th lynching death in Jharkhand in the past three years. These series of lynchings clearly indicate the immunity provided to the perpetrators of violence by the state government.
Jan Sangharsh Samiti’s Saroj Hembram said that she protests against the bovine protection law that is used to kill people on the name of cow slaughter. Kendriya Jansangharsh Samiti strongly condemns these series of lynchings, the subsequent harassment of surviving victims and the administrative inaction against the perpetrators of violence.

Towards the end of the protest meeting, a delegation of protestors submitted a memorandum to the Gumla Deputy Commissioner with the following demands:

Withdrawal of false cases of cow slaughter filed against the Adivasis of Jurmu
Arrest of all the perpetrators involved in the mob violence and file charges against them under The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
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
Provide interim compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the deceased’s family and Rs. 10 lakhs each to the injured victims
Compliance with the recent Supreme Court judgement on lynching
Action against the continued harassment of Adivasis of Jurmu

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog