Last Monday, the Tripura High Court rejected pre-arrest bail for a guy named Saiful Islam, who was allegedly a member of a mob that brutally murdered and lynched an 18-year-old kid on suspicion of being a member of a squad of cattle lifters.
The Bench of Justice S. G. Chattopadhyay granted pre-arrest bail to the accused, Gagan Debbarma, citing that a young kid of 18 years was mercilessly killed by a mob simply on the suspicion that he was a livestock lifter, despite the fact that no cattle were found in his hands.
The facts in a nutshell: According to the officer in charge of Mungiakami police station, Khowai, on June 20, 2021, he learned that the deceased (Saiful Islam) and his friends had stolen animals and were apprehended by locals while driving the stolen cattle in a vehicle.
When the complainant got to the scene, he discovered the deceased person laying on the street in a frightening state, with multiple cuts on his body and unable to communicate.
Essentially, when the dead Saiful Isalm attempted to flee, he was apprehended near Sovaram Chow Para and severely manhandled by an enraged mob, resulting in his wounds and his death in hospital.
During the investigation, police recorded the statements of some witnesses, and during the course of the investigation, the Bail applicant was discovered to be a member of the mob that allegedly murdered the deceased, and he was charged with the offence punishable under sections 341 and 302 r/w section.
The bail applicant said in his current bail petition that he was not identified as an accused in the FIR and that no prima facie evidence of murder had been made established against him, therefore his arrest and incarceration were unjustifiable.
The state’s attorney contended that the deceased was brutally murdered by a crowd and that eyewitness accounts had revealed the name of the accused petitioner as one of the mob members who were seen chasing and killing the deceased.
As a result, the Court denied the bail applicant the advantage of anticipatory bail, citing the gravity of the offence and the fact that the youth was mercilessly killed by a crowd solely on the allegation that he was a livestock lifter, despite the fact that no cattle were found in his possession.
