A Sessions Court of Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh has convicted seven men to life imprisonment in connection with a 2022 mob lynching incident over suspicions of cow smuggling, resulting in the death of one man named Najir Ahmed and serious injuries to others.
Additional Sessions Judge in Narmadapuram district, held Deepak alias Baba Kevat, Ajay alias Ajju Rathore, Prakash Kaushal, Pawan Batham, Amar alias Bhola Batham, Kanhaiya Batham and Ballu alias Anuj Raghuvanshi guilty of offences under Sections 148, 307/149 and 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code.
The First Additional Sessions Judge, Tabassum Khan, observed: "Before imposing sentence on the accused, the aggravating and mitigating circumstances are to be considered. In the present case of aggravating circumstances, it is proved that the accused committed mob lynching and the the accused, having formed an unlawful assembly and armed themselves with deadly weapons, committed rioting.
It is also clear that the accused beat the victim with extreme brutality, as a result of which the deceased Najir Ahmad sustained extensive injuries, as recorded in the PM Report. As a result of the accused's act, the deceased Najir Ahmad died and the other injured persons sustained injuries".
According to the prosecution, on the night of August 2-3, 2022, truck driver Sheikh Lala, along with Nazir Ahmed and Sheikh Mustaq, was transporting cattle from Nandarwada towards Maharashtra when their vehicle was intercepted near Barakhad village in Seoni Malwa. A group of villagers allegedly stopped the truck and assaulted the occupants with sticks and wooden rods. Nazir Ahmed later succumbed to the injuries.
An FIR was subsequently registered at the Police Station of Sivanimalwa for rioting (Section 147), wrongful restraint (Section 341) and attempt to murder (Section 307) against unidentified accused people. During the investigation, the police collected blood samples from the spot, recorded witness statements and also obtained the dying declaration of the victims. After thoroughly examining all the evidence, the court found that the accused had formed an unlawful assembly armed with lathis and dandas and had acted in the prosecution of a common object.
While considering the sentence, the court emphasised the incident as a proven case of mob lynching and noted that the deceased had suffered extensive injuries due to the brutal assault. The court relied on medical evidence showing multiple head and bodily injuries suffered by the deceased. It noted that Nazir Ahmed was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and that the post-mortem examination revealed serious injuries, including skull fractures and multiple contusions.The court rejected the defence contention that the death was unrelated to the assault. The judgment also referred to forensic evidence linking blood-stained weapons and clothing recovered during the investigation with the crime.
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