Blow to justice, say kin after 17 acquitted in Chhattisgarh father-son murder case

Alam Bi’s world came crashing down when her husband Raheem Ummad Mohammad, 55, and son Idul Mohammad, 35, were found dead following communal violence in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara in 2023.

On Wednesday, a day after a sessions court acquitted all 17 men accused of murdering the father-son duo from Biranpur village, Ms. Alam Bi said the verdict has “dealt a blow to her hope for justice”.

“I had stepped out of the village when I heard that a mob beat them to death while taking our goats for grazing. Our 100 goats were lost or perhaps looted. For the past three years, there is no one to till the family land on which we used to grow paddy and gram,” she said.

Ms. Alam Bi said the family is now dependent on monthly aid of ₹1,000 from the State government’s Mahtari Vandan Yojana, a financial assistance scheme for eligible married women in Chhattisgarh. Idul’s wife Shakila Bano and nine-year-old son Distar Mohammad live in a nearby house. Ms. Alam Bi said her daughter-in-law earns a living as a daily wage worker, but the family is mostly surviving on monetary help from fellow community members.

She said a scuffle had broken out between two minors from different communities on April 8, 2023 that escalated into communal violence in Biranpur village. A 22-year-old man, Bhuneshwar Sahu, was found murdered, which triggered a political outcry.

On April 10, the Vishva Hindu Parishad declared a bandh. It was unofficially backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was then in the Opposition and blamed the then Congress government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for the murder.

Ms. Alam Bi said the bodies of Raheem and Idul were found on April 11 despite heavy police presence in the village. It later emerged that a day earlier, a house located nearby that belonged to Raheem’s married daughter, Hatun Bi, had been burnt by a mob. Six FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence. During the probe into the double-murder case, 17 men were arrested.

In the Assembly poll held later that year, the BJP accused the then Congress government of “appeasement politics” and fielded Bhuneshwar’s father, Ishwar Sahu, from the Saja constituency. He went on to defeat then Minister and Congress leader Ravindra Choubey and became an MLA. The BJP won the election and handed over the Bhuneshwar murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 2024 after forming the government. The matter is being heard in the CBI court in Raipur.

‘No faith in the system’

Raheem’s elder brother Shah Mohammad said no compensation was given to Ms. Alam Bi. The 17 arrests notwithstanding, Mr. Shah and other Muslim residents of the village feel the police failed to ensure that the accused were brought to justice. “There were 12 people who were arrested from the Muslim locality for Bhuneshwar’s murder. His father became an MLA, his case was shifted to the CBI. What about us?”

Mr. Shah said they do not have “enough faith in the system” to approach any government official seeking compensation.