After mob kills 21-yr-old, admin, cops work overtime to ensure peace in Jamner

Suleman’s maternal uncle Kalim Shaikh said, “Suleman was beaten up for hours by the mob. His parents and sister were also beaten up. Without any provocation, the mob beat Suleman up. He had come to Jamner to fill out a form for police recruitment. He was sitting in the cafe with some friends. We don’t know why they beat him up.”

Sabir Khan, another relative, said, “Suleman was sitting in the cafe with friends. If the mob thought there was something objectionable happening, they could have taken them to the police station, which was next door. We urge Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to slap the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused, as was done in the Beed case.” He was referring to the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district last year.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jalgaon District Collector Ayush Prasad said, “The incident was very unfortunate. First, the mob attacked him in the cafe in Jamner and then took him to Betawad village. He was again beaten up in front of his parents. He suffered injuries. The mob then left the village.”

“Suleman’s parents then took him to their house, where he sipped some water and fell unconscious. His parents rushed him to a hospital but he was declared brought dead by doctors,” Prasad added.

Following his death, a large crowd gathered at the hospital and the police station. They refused to take custody of the body until the suspects were arrested.

The district collector, who is also the executive magistrate, said the death created tense moments as a mob of 500 gathered at the police station demanding action.

“The police swung into action and immediately arrested two people the same day after registering an FIR. Immediately after the police took action, back-channel communication was maintained with leaders of all communities to ensure continued peace. There was no lathicharge or force used to ensure peace. An inquest of the body was conducted immediately, and a post-mortem was done the next morning at the government medical college. Around 300 people were present during the burial,” said Prasad.

Highlighting the strong coordination between the district administration and the police, the district collector added, “We maintained an effective back-channel communication which helped ensure the situation did not spiral out of hand and peace prevailed. We posted a Sub Divisional Officer with the aggrieved family. He was told to camp in the village. The SDM communicated all the demands of the family and emotional outbursts to the police. The police on their part took action and continuously communicated these actions to the family.”

Prasad said that apart from the victim’s family and community leaders, the families of the mob were also informed of the action taken.

“We ensured no excess action was taken against the families of the youths involved in the murder. We arrested only those involved. The SDM ensured no rumour-mongering and misunderstanding took place and kept the channel of communication open with both sides. We implemented the standard operating procedure systemically. The police took pro-active action. When a mob gathers, anything can happen including violence and stone-throwing, but we ensured continued peace with a lot of sympathy and empathy in all directions.”

Prasad said it became clear that those in the mob were all youths. “It appears that they are not affiliated with any right-wing organisations, as these organisations have denied any connections to the mob.”

Prasad said an additional superintendent of police will lead the SIT investigating the case.

Jalgaon Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Reddy said, “We have slapped murder and lynching charges in the case.”

Additional SP Kavita Nerkar, who is heading the SIT, said, “The investigation is in progress… We are not labelling the incident as love jihad…So far, eight persons have been arrested.”