Relatives of the 2019 lynching victim Tabrez Ansari will file a criminal appeal in Jharkhand High Court for increasing the quantum of punishment for 10 accused persons.

The convicts were sentenced to 10 years in jail by the court of additional district judge-1 Amit Shekhar in Seraikela on Wednesday. The 10 were found guilty under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. In addition, all the accused have been asked to deposit Rs 15,000 as a fine separately.

“We had demanded punishment under Section 302 (culpable homicide amounting to murder) but the court overruled it and changed it to 304 of the IPC on the plea that the injured victim had died after four days.

“We will appeal against it in the high court as he was mercilessly beaten throughout the night with the intention of murder and would like the quantum of punishment increased to life imprisonment,” said lawyer Altaf Hussain, the legal counsel for Shaishta Perween, wife of deceased Tabrez.

“The 10 accused who were given punishment are Prakash Mandal alias Pappu Mandal, Bhimsen Mandal, Kamal Mahto, Madan Nayak, Atul Mahali, Mahesh Mahali, Vikram Mandal, Chamu Nayak, Premchand Mahali and Sunamo Pradhan. A total of 36 people testified in this case,” added Hussain.

Two other accused (Sumant Pradhan and Satyanarayana Nayak) were acquitted for lack of evidence while one of the accused, Kushal Mahali, died during the course of the trial.

Tabrez was lynched by a mob at Dhatkidih in Seraikela-Kharsawan district on the allegation of stealing bikes in the intervening night of June 17, 2019 and the wee hours of June 18, 2019.

He succumbed to his injuries on June 22 at the Tata Main Hospital here.