Police let BJP leader free in murder case without investigation

New Delhi, April 2: An independent probe into the murder of a 12-year-old boy and a 32-year-old cattle trader -- both Muslims -- in 2016 in Jharkhand claims that police sabotaged the investigation and denied justice to the families of the victims as all the accused are out on bail.

The report "Hanged by Gau Rakshaks, Denied Justice by the State" by Ajith Sahi, a rights activist, alleges that police delaying filing of an FIR by 17 hours and did not include relevant sections of the IPC in it.

Among other examples of alleged police failure, the report says that a BJP leader named by eye-witnesses as one of the accused was yet to be questioned. "Forget chargesheeted, the BJP leader named in the FIR has not yet been questioned. He is roaming free," Sahi said.

Eight people have been accused of committing the crime but all are out on bail for the past 18 months. This despite the fact that three eye witnesses to the crime have named them and the accused confessing of the crime to police, said the report.

The report has been endorsed by many rights groups including Alliance for Justice and Accountability, New York, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai, Dalit American Coalition, New York, Indian American Muslim Council, Washington and United Against Hate, New Delhi.