RANCHI: Even after nearly a year of Alimuddin Ansari’s lynching, his widow has not got the death certificate from the district administration. Reason: The trader died in a moving police vehicle and the exact location of his death is yet to be ascertained. Mariam Khatoon says her family will not be able to avail any compensation in the absence of the crucial document.
Alimuddin, 55, was beaten to death by a mob led by some members of a local ‘Gau Raksha Samiti’ in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district on the suspicion that he was carrying beef.
“I have been running from one office of the district administration to another for the last one year, but they have not issued death certificate of my husband, who was killed by a mob in Ramgarh on June 27 last year,” rues Mariam.
The circle officer wants in writing from the police station concerned the exact location where Ansari breathed his last while he was being taken to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (in Ranchi), she added.
“A fortnight ago, I met the Deputy Commissioner who assured me that it (the document) will be issued in a week. But when I went there again after 10 days, I was told that the person concerned was on leave and will come back in two-three days only after which it can be issued,” the widow says. “We are unable to apply for the government job and ration shop, which were promised by the administration.”
The fast-track court, which sentenced life imprisonment to 11 of the 12 accused in the case, had also directed the District Legal Services Authority to initiate proceedings for adequate compensation. But, she says, it is not yet initiated for want of the death certificate.
Ramgarh SDO Anant Kumar sticks to official protocol. “As Alimuddin was in police custody while being taken to RIMS, we have sought exact location from the police about where he died.”
“We will issue the certificate as soon as we get the information,” Kumar adds. Ramgarh SP A Vijay Laxmi, on the other hand, evaded the question. “Ït is beyond our jurisdiction. You should go and ask the SDO who issues a death certificate.”
Meanwhile, 10 people convicted for lynching Alimuddin are out on bail after the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to them.