Jharkhand Government to reintroduce Mob Lynching Bill after 18 months

Ranchi, July 23: The Jharkhand government is gearing up to reintroduce the mob lynching bill, known as the Prevention of Mob Violence/Murder Bill-2023, during the upcoming monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha. The bill is set to be presented for cabinet approval before its introduction. This comes after the earlier version, Mob Violence Prevention and Mob Lynching Prevention Bill-2021, was returned by the Governor, Ramesh Bais, on 18th March 2022, citing certain objections.

The objections raised by the Governor have now been addressed by the State Government with the consultation of the Advocate General. The government expresses serious concern over the increasing instances of violence and killings perpetrated by frenzied mobs, taking the law into their own hands. Thus, the re-proposal of the bill aims to put an end to mob lynching incidents and ensure appropriate punishment for the culprits involved.

One of the issues raised during the previous review was the discrepancy between the English and Hindi versions of the bill, particularly in sub-section 12 of sub-section (1) of section 2, which deals with the witness protection scheme. Another point of contention was the definition of a crowd in sub-section (6) of sub-section (1) of the same section, as the Governor objected to a group of two or more persons being classified as a disorderly crowd.

The earlier version of the Mob Lynching Prevention Bill-2021 proposed stringent penalties, including rigorous life imprisonment ranging from three years to the attachment of property and a fine of Rs 25 lakh for those found guilty. In cases of serious injury, the punishment was set to range from 10 years to life imprisonment. Furthermore, instigators of the mob were also subject to a three-year sentence as they were considered complicit.

The bill also provided provisions for compensating the victim’s family and ensuring free treatment for the victim.

Tragically, there have been several instances of mob lynching in Jharkhand in the recent past:

• On January 5, 2022, Sanju Pradhan was brutally beaten to death with stones and sticks by a mob at Besrajra market in Simdega, and the body was subsequently burnt.
• On January 11, 2022, Jai Murmu was fatally attacked by a group of people in Sarladih, Giridih.
• On May 6, 2022, Shamim Ansari lost his life after being beaten by the wood mafia in Gumla’s Bharna police station area for opposing tree cutting.
• On June 11, 2022, in Lohardaga’s Ganeshpur village, a mob assaulted a woman with sticks, forced her to drink poison, and later disposed of her body in a waterfall, suspecting her to be a witch.
• On October 3, 2022, Ejaz Khan fell victim to a violent mob in Tigra village of Gumla.
• On October 7, 2022, Imran Ansari was lynched by a mob in Dhavaiya village of Bokaro.
• On October 17, 2022, Suresh Yadav, accused of theft in Dumka’s Taljhari police station area, was tied to a tree and beaten to death by a mob.
• On May 12, 2023, Mithun Singh Kharwar, accused of theft, was beaten to death by a mob in Horedag, Ranchi.

In light of these horrific incidents, the Jharkhand government is committed to passing the new mob lynching bill to deter such violence and ensure justice is served for the victims and their families.