A crime report has been registered against 27 accused Muslims and 100 other unknowns in the Rupesh Pandey murder case in Hazaribagh on 8th February 2022. Manish Jaiswal, BJP MLA of Hazaribagh city has come forward in support of the victim’s family and is continuously raising this issue from his Twitter account.

Rupesh Pandey was murdered by a mob of Muslims in a fight that emerged at the time of Saraswati Puja’s Idol Visarjan on 6th February 2022. The 17-year old son of Sikandar Pandey was part of the religious procession which faced unexpected opposition from the mass of Muslims while passing from an area called Lakhna Dulmaha Imambada of the Nai Taand village in Hazaribagh. The spot comes under the Barhi police station. The mob engaged in the ruckus with the Hindu devotees. In this, Rupesh Pandey was badly beaten. He was declared dead when taken to the hospital.

When asked about how did it all happen, Manoj Ratan Chauthe, SP Hazaribagh could not give any satisfactory answer. He said that the police are investigating the case and the situations are under control now. However, the local people have specifically named the killers which include Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Anis, Mohammad Kaif, Mohammad Gufran, Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Osama, Mohammad Ehtam, and Mohammad Nahid. The case registered in the police station names 27 such accused. Besides, 100 other unknowns have been booked in this case.

Meanwhile, the state BJP leaders and local BJP MLA have jumped in to support the Pandey family. Jharkhand state BJP president Deepak Prakash has said that the way this mob has surrounded the Saraswati Visarjan procession and launched a violent attack to kill Rupesh Pandey, it must be called a crime of mob lynching and the accused must be charged for the same. He also alleged that the state government is saving the culprits.

MLA of Hazaribagh city, Manish Jaiswal of BJP has taken this to Twitter. He has changed his display picture and set a photo of the deceased Rupesh Pandey over there. He also attended the cremation of the deceased boy. He has tweeted “Incapable Jharkhand government has interrupted the internet services in Hazaribagh, Giridih, Chhatra, and Ramgarh. This is extremely painful and shameful. Fight for justice is going on. I assure Rupesh Pandey’s name will be echoed in the assembly.”

He has also posted a video of the cremation of the deceased boy. He has further said in his tweet “I resolved to stand shoulder to shoulder with the victim’s family in this very sad time and extend all possible help to the family. The entry of my car on the narrow road should not cause any inconvenience to the villagers and for this reason, reached the village by a two-wheeler of a colleague.”

Manish Jaiswal further added “Attended the cremation, paid tribute to Rupesh and met the family members of the victims. Our demands are 1. Action should be taken under the Mob Lynching Act. 2. Speedy trial through fast-track courts to punish the guilty at the earliest. 3. ₹ 50 lakh compensation should be given to the family.”

Considering repeated incidents of hate crimes against Hindus, he has also announced raising funds to help the victims. He has said in his tweet “A fund was formed to provide justice to Rupesh and it was decided that if the family is unable to fight the battle for justice due to poverty, then Hindu society will fight Rupesh’s fight through this fund to get justice. I have announced to give 51,000 to this fund.”

Meanwhile, the internet facilities in the district were restored by the police late in the afternoon on 9th February 2022.

References:

opindia.com