Lynching During a Cricket Match: Why a Muslim Ragpicker Was Killed in Mangaluru

"He wouldn't raise 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan, he had no reason to and he only spoke Malayalam," Ashraf's brother.

Mohd Ashraf, a ragpicker was lynched near a cricket ground for his Muslim identity, fact-finding report reveals.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

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(Trigger Warning: This piece contains some graphic details of the lynching).

Five days after the Pahalgam terror attack, on 27 April, a 39-year-old ragpicker, Mohammed Ashraf was beaten to death by a mob in Kudupu village, Mangaluru over allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans. His family has now raised questions over Ashraf's killing.

Ashraf's body was found by the local police on the kachha road between the Bhatarhalli Devasthana (temple) and a cricket ground. 

A fact-finding team by PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties), APCR (Association for Protection of Civil Rights) and AILAJ (All India Lawyers Association for Justice) reached Mangaluru to investigate into the case. This piece decodes their findings and our conversation with Ashraf's brother Abdul Jabbar.

"It came to the attention of the fact finding team that in the aftermath of the mob lynching of Mohammed Ashraf and the murder of Suhas Shetty, a number of social media posts baying for blood went viral. Such hate speech is unfortunately commonplace in the region, which has become the Hindutva Laboratory of the South," the team stated.

Ashraf's death occurred in the afternoon between 2 and 5 PM. The Police arrived after being alerted but initially treated the case as an unnatural death, claiming no visible injuries.

However, photos accessed by The Quint show serious injuries, bruises all over his body. Due to the graphic nature of the injuries on his body, we'll not be sharing them here.

Mohd Ashraf's body.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

The post-mortem was done in the absence of the family. Two activists, Prakash B Salian and Lawrence, also stated that after multiple attempts, they saw Ashraf's body at the Mortuary of Wenlock Hospital.

"We were shocked to see the kind of wounds on the deceased body. The false narrative of the police became clear to us," the report quoted them as saying.

The two activists have also alleged that Ravindra Nayak alias Pistol Ravi (husband of the former BJP corporator Sangeetha Nayak) has a role to play in the lynching.

The 'Pakistan' Slogan

Without any substantial evidence, the allegations of pro-Pakistan slogans were pushed by the media, Home Minister and rumors were spread, the report stated.

The Home Minister initially repeated the claim but later clarified that it was based on the accused’s statements and it was not his own view.

Ashraf was believed to have had some mental health issues in the past. However, the fact-finding team stated that it as an undisputed claim that "any reference to his mental condition to imply that he shouted 'Pakistan Pakistan' is baseless.".

The FIR was filed on the basis of complainant Deepak Kumar who alleged that it was a local, Manjunath was in the mob that lynched Ashraf.

Secondly, the complaint stated that he heard "Pakistan Pakistan" not "Pakistan Zindabad" and the men in the mob said they should not leave Ashraf and beat him up. Apart from this claim of the complainant, there is no evidence to show that Ashraf raised such slogans, the report noted.

Mohd Ashraf after he was beaten to death near a cricket ground.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

As per the police probe and testimonies, Ashraf was walking next to a railway track and collecting plastics. After seeing the cricket match, he went towards the ground.

There is no chance that he would have raised a slogan. For raising a slogan, he should know about both the sides, be aware, but he was not in a position to understand all this. Secondly, he was a Malayali who only knew Malayalam. They might have assumed something related to Pakistan but he wouldn't say such a thing. Thirdly, when I went to collect the body, eyewitnesses told me that none of them heard him say 'Pakistan Zindabad.'

Abdul Jabbar, Ashraf's brother to The Quint

An anonymous source told PUCL that Ashraf was asked if he was from Pakistan, but then a brawl ensued and he was beaten by a group of 30-60 people. They allegedly used cricket bats, tree branches to beat him along with kicking him with all their force.

Reportedly, right after beating Ashraf to death, the accused continued to play cricket organised by Samrat Friends Circle.

The report stated, "The dehumanisation of the other—in this case of the Muslim is so complete — that the mob after lynching Mohammed Ashraf continued to play cricket in the cricket ground. No remorse for taking away a life. This attitude of morbid intolerance is absolutely intolerable and agonizingly painful."

'He Loved Cricket & Was Killed While Watching It': Ashraf's Mother

Ashraf grew up in Malappuram with his brothers and sisters in a family of six. His family runs a small stationary shop in Wayanad.

A class 10 dropout, Ashraf had been collecting plastics and rags since then and used to visit Wayanad every 2-3 months. He spent his days and nights at the bus stops and railways stations.

The last time he went home, he gave Rs 25,000 to his mother, as per the brother's account.

A week before he was lynched, Jabbar had received a call from a scrap dealer's number, Syed Ali. Ashraf used his phone to make the call back home.

The police reportedly saw CCTV footage of Ashraf entering the Ali's shop and hence, also spoke to Ali and found out Jabbar's number.

Jabbar told The Quint that he now wants to meet the accused and ask them why they killed his brother. He also demanded the police to act meticulously in the probe.

I have not received the post-mortem report. Whoever is investigating the case, the crime branch, CID, SIT, whichever police officials, they have to give utmost sincerity to this case so that my brother gets justice. They should not do in a rush or pressure so that only the real accused are arrested with proper evidence and the case becomes stronger. If innocents are arrested, it will affect my brother's case and it will fall flat.

Abdul Jabbar, Ashraf's brother to The Quint

Mohd Ashraf's photo shared by his brother.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Since Ashraf's death, his mother, Rukhiya, 67 has also been struggling to get back to normal life. Ashraf's death also came just three days after Rukhiya lost her mother.

Ashraf's mother recounted that whenever she asked him as to why he wandered like this, he told her, “No need to worry. I’ll sleep in railway stations. I don’t need anything more," as per the report.

"Since childhood, he loved cricket a lot. Maybe he went there to watch something. He used to tie a handkerchief on his head. They might have seen that and assumed he was a Musalman. Who knows what they did?" Rukhiya told the PUCL team.

The spot where Ashraf was beaten to death and was found.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Ashraf did not care about earning too much money or any luxury, he didn't even a mobile phone, "Why was he beaten to death? What wrong did he do?" she asked.

The family got to know about his death two days later. "By Allah’s grace, we got to know, otherwise, he would have died as a nobody, without anyone knowing. Those who killed my son should not be let free. They should be punished," the report quoted her saying.

Meanwhile, Ali, whose mobile phone Ashraf had used to make a call, also corroborated his identity and told PUCL that he paid him Rs 700-1,000 for the scrap he used to collect.

"I had seen the photo that was being circulated but because he was beaten up so badly I couldn’t identify him. I was shocked that someone killed him like that. I am very sad that someone in the name of religion was killed. Then some people were circulating rumours that he shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' that is why he was killed. I cannot believe that he would do that," Ali told the PUCL team.

Delay in Filing of FIR, No Mention of Hate Crime

On 28 April, an FIR was registered under Sections 103(2), 115(2), 189(2), 190, 191(1), 191(3) and 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, based on the complaint by Deepak Kumar.

While 103 (2) which pertains to murder by a group has been added, the complaint does not explicitly call it a hate crime.

PUCL and the team have argued that this framing weakens the case and fails to address the communal context of the violence.

Ranjan (Assistant Investigation Officer), Wamanjur Police Station confirmed to the PUCL team that an Unnatural Death Report was filed on the day of the incident, the FIR was filed the next day. Out of the 21 arrested, six are out on bail, 5 bails are pending, 10 bails were rejected and 3 are absconding.

"This is the first of mob-lynching incidents that Mangalore has seen," said TD Nagaraj (Investigation Officer), Kankanady Police Station to the team.

He stated, as the report quotes, "In this case, there was mud and dirt on his body, and the injuries weren’t immediately identified at the time. Everything came to light during the post-mortem…. [That injuries was found on his body]."

On 13 June, Jabbar, expressed his anger that Ashraf's case would have been closed if it wasn't for the activists and organisations who intervened to register and act on the FIR. The report, quoted him saying:

“When he was lynched, the Police clearly saw Ashraf as a Muslim beggar. They thought he was just a Muslim beggar, nobody will come forward to ask questions about his lynching. They thought it is not a big deal he was lynched."

The PUCL team stated that apart from the questions that arise out of the police's probe, "The fact that no member of the public tried to intervene to stop the lynching or even called the police shows the kind of deterioration of public conscience that we are witnessing in the region."