The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation’s lawyer to take instructions from the agency on conducting the inquiry into the murder of a Muslim man from West Bengal in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand town on December 6, 2017, PTI reported. The court also asked the counsel to take instructions on providing adequate compensation to Afrazul Khan’s family.
A man named Shambhulal Regar had murdered Khan on camera and then set his body on fire on December 6. He later linked the act to “love jihad” in order to hide his relationship with a woman he called his “Hindu sister”. “Love jihad” is a term Hindutva groups often use to accuse Muslim men of entrapping Hindu women on the pretext of love, to convert them to Islam.
On Friday, the Supreme Court directed the CBI’s counsel to take instructions based on a plea by the deceased’s widow, Gulbahar Bibi. The petitioner has pleaded that the inquiry be conducted by an impartial agency, and that videos of Regar’s act circulating on social media be pulled down.
Bibi’s lawyer Indira Jaising sought appointment of a special public prosecutor to conduct the trial and transfer of the investigation to Malda district in West Bengal, where Bibi resides. However, the top court said that it would look into the issue at a later stage.
Jaising also said that the victims should be “granted fundamental right to access to justice” as an “unruly crowd has been attempting to stall the judicial process to favour the accused.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!