Ramgarh Lynching: 11 Gau-Rakshaks including a local BJP leader convicted for killing of Alimuddin Ansari

New Delhi, 18 Mar 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: In an unprecedented judgement, a Jharkhand court on Friday convicted 11 self-styled cow vigilantes -including a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader- Nityanand Mahto, for murdering a Muslim man for allegedly carrying beef.

The sentencing will be announced on March 20. This is the first ever conviction in the lynching cases that have spurted in the country during the current regime.

The Jharkhand High Court last year constituted a special fast track court presided over by Additional District Judge Om Prakash to try the case on day-to-day basis.

The deceased Alimuddin alias Asgar Ansari was lynched to death by a mob  in Ramgarh on June 29 last year, reportedly based on suspicions that he was carrying beef.

In an interview to NewsClick , Ansari’s  advocate Shadab Ansari said  “We welcome the verdict. The prosecution was swift and the police investigated the case professionally. Finally, the truth prevailed. The honourable court accepted that the deceased was pulled out of his car and beaten to death by frenzied mob comprising BJP and Bajrang Dal activists.”

Meanwhile, defence counsel has decided to appeal against the verdict in the High Court.