As Victims Of Ranchi's Communal Violence Await Justice, Culprits Yet To Be Caught

Fifteen-year-old Mudassir Alam’s small house define the picture of darkness of his family—a small bed; scattered kitchen utensils; a mother holding the matriculation certificate of her deceased teenager; and, an ailing father suffering from cancer. It has been more than a year since Alam was killed allegedly in police firing while protesting against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s demeaning comments against Prophet Mohammad. However, neither any investigation has been completed nor any compensation given to the victims.

On June 10 last year, thousands of Muslim protestors hit Ranchi’s streets demanding action against Sharma. As the situation turned violent, the police opened fire leading to the death of Alam and 21-year-old Sahil Ansari. Though the police FIR notes that there were firing from the protestors’ side, the people—who claim to be present on the site—have alleged that Hindutva leaders who started shooting at the protestors from Hanuman Temple, situated on the main road. Mudassir and Sahil’s family—in their police complaint and accessed by Outlook—have also alleged that a senior BJP leader and several others pelted stones and opened fire at the protestors from the temple. They allege that since the police had refused to file an FIR, both families filed a writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court seeking judicial intervention. However, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Prakash Soy, says that two FIRs were merged into one and the investigation is in progress.

Nevertheless, the police have filed 48 FIRs in different police stations against 22 named and 10,000 unnamed persons. Ranchi Senior Superintended of Police (SSP), Kaushal Kishore, confirming the number of cases, notes that already four cases have been disposed off, whereas one case has been taken up by the CID. The police have already filed chargesheets against 29 people. The investigation is underway in 44 cases, Kishore adds.

Sources in CID say that a chargesheet was filed against 12 people, including the deceased Mudasir and Sahil, in September, 2022. Ten of them are now in judicial custody. The CID only took up the case filed in Daily Market Police Station, as it involved cross firing between people and the police. According to the 1997 NHRC guidelines, if the police is involved in the encounter, an independent body like CID should take over the investigation. However, it also says that the investigation should be completed within four months of the incident.

Referring to the chargesheet against the 12 people, Zia Ullah of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), says, “The majority of the people named in the chargesheet are severely injured. Two of them have died and another is fighting for his life. All of them are innocent.” A few of them have even got bail, he adds. APCR representatives wanted to meet CM Hemant Soren, but they were denied access. The official comatose is glaring. Immediately after the incident, the Soren government formed a committee comprising the Director General of Police (Operations), Sanjay Lathkar, and the Secretary of Disaster Management, Amitabh Kaushal, to investigate the matter and submit the report within a week. However, even after several extensions, the report is not in the public domain.

Atmostphere of Fear

Meanwhile, the fear of arrests and raids haunt Muslims in the city to such an extent that most of them deny revealing their identities. On condition of anonymity, one of them asks, “How can we say anything? If we plan to protest on any issue, the police say, ‘your name will be included among 10,000 unknown persons’. Who will dare to say anything?” But the struggle of the victim’s families continues. Now their hope rests only with the judicial system. Seeking justice for her son, Mudassir’s mother, Nikhat Parveen, says, “He was a studious boy. He got more than 60 per cent in matriculation despite several odds. We just want justice for him.” Even in this situation, the police investigation goes on. “They called me and asked me why my son was wearing a black kurta that day. How can the colour of kurta be connected to his engagement in violence?” asks Parveen. The police also asked the name of the Madrasa where he studied.

Sahil’s mother, Soni Parveen, suffers from severe ailments. Her 21-year-old son, who was employed in the Daily Market; was the family’s main breadwinner; and, had just brought his mother back from the hospital before leaving for Friday prayers. But he never returned. “He told me that he would take me to a heart specialist when he returns from namaaz,” recalls Parveen. Mohammad Shoaib, Sahil’s elder brother, doesn’t want any compensation. “What we need is proper investigation. We need to know why innocent people were killed.”

Another victim of the police firing, 27-years-old Nadim, is still recovering at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS). His father, Mohammad Akhlaq, says that his son has been denied justice by the political establishment. “After Friday prayers, he went to buy medicines and suddenly he found himself among the people rushing for their lives. The police fired at him.” He was first admitted to RIMS, but under the pressure of media and the intervention of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, he was sent to a private hospital in Delhi where his treatment went on for two and a half months.

“The government then offered some financial assistance. But that’s all. Again, he was brought back to Ranchi and was admitted to a private hospital, namely the Alam Nursing Home. Now, he is in RIMS and is being treated according to the jail manual. He hasn’t received bail yet,” laments Akhlaq. They had to sell their only piece of land to bear the huge medical and legal cost.

Nadim’s mother, Nasreen Khatoon, couldn’t hold back her tears: “We are taking loans and collecting money from different sources to run our household.” Nadim, who used to work as an electrician, was the major breadwinner of their house. “We only request the government to withdraw the case against him. We want him to return home,” Khatoon adds.

Junking the Police Manual

One of the major questions that emerge after the violence pertain to the decision of the police to resort to firing instead of taking preliminary measures like water cannons and tear gas. Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad of the Jharkhand High Court, while hearing a petition filed by a Pankaj Yadav seeking a NIA investigation into the case, also asked the same questions to the government on June 17, 2022.

According to the FIR of Circle Officer Amit Kumar Bhagat—accessed by Outlook—who was allegedly on patrol duty on June 10, the Muslim protestors were aggressive from the very beginning and had planned to attack the Hanuman temple. His FIR also says that the ‘miscreants’ pelted stones and opened fire at the police. Some even tried to snatch police weapons, it notes. This FIR, interestingly points out that the police fired tear gas, charged batons and opened fire in the air only to pacify the protestors.

However, this does not explain how Mudassir and Sahil died and several others like Nadim got severely injured. The videos circulated during that time allegedly shows policemen firing at the protestors. Though Outlook couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the videos, several eyewitnesses confirm this version. Congress MLA, Irfan Ansari, who has been vocal on the issue since the beginning, asks, “Why did only Ranchi witness such violence whereas the protests were going on across the country? It should be investigated thoroughly. We will not be silent unless the justice is delivered.”

He attributes the violence to the police and “Bajrang Dal members” who were allegedly firing from the Hanuman temple. Nadeem Khan, a CPI (ML) leader and activist points out how the system is turning innocents into offenders. “The court argument even indicates that the government is trying to safeguard some people,” says Khan. “Muslims in Ranchi have been asking for the investigation reports to be made public. How did the violence break out? Who was responsible?” he asks.

As Hemant Soren-led JMM-Congress alliance is going to face assembly elections in 2024, the issue is bound to flare up, note political analysts. Muslims comprise almost 15 per cent of the state’s population and are considered to be a strong vote bank for Soren’s party.

Abhik Bhattacharya & Md Asghar Khan in Ranchi