In a landmark and a much needful judgment, 11 accused men were convicted and sentenced to Imprisonment for Life for committing the death of a meat trader in Jharkhand.
The special fast track court, while finding these cow vigilantes guilty, also imposed a fiine of Rs 2000/- each for their heinous act. The 12th accused, being a minor was left out of the decision and his sentencing would be decided in a further hearing in the juvenile Court.
The 11 men — Santosh Singh, Chottu Verma, Deepak Mishra, Vicky Saw, Sikandar Ram, Uttam Ram, Vikram Prasad, Raju Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Kapil Thakur and BJP worker Nityanand Mahto, on June 29, 2017, had been arrested on the charges of murdering Alimuddin Ansari alias Asgar Ali, a 55-year-old trader. Out of them, one has also been alleged to be a leader of the BJP.
This incident was not the first one in the country as the number of death with respect of beef trading as risen since the BJP came into power. The people wh term themselves as cow vigilantes have been reportedly murdering innocent citizens on a mere suspicion of beef trading. While the government has been silent on the matter and has only attended to this matter by giving a gender condemning statement, cow vigilantism has become a major concern with many authorities choosing to support the cause.
This decision, therefore, comes as a landmark judgment as it is a step leaning towards reinstating  the faith of the people in the criminal justice system and a way of establishing the fact that recent violent acts of the cow vigilantes are not only illegal but are also subject to stringent measures.
