Change FIR or case can collapse in trial, says man who lodged FIR in Hapur lynching

Admitted to the intensive care unit in Hapur’s Dev Nandini Hospital with extensive injuries, 62-year-old Samiuddin Khan holds the truth behind the lynching last week in Hapur where a man named Qasim Khan was brutally killed. Samiuddin’s brother, Yaseen Khan, who lodged the first information report (FIR), has demanded that the police “correct” the events mentioned in the FIR and record his brother’s statement.

“There is not a part of his body which does not have injury marks. There is damage to his liver, to his kidney; his ribs, leg and arm are broken. He was left to be dead… it will be a miracle if he survives,” Yaseen Khan told ET at the hospital.

He alleged that the UP police fed him the wrong version of events when he signed on the FIR. “The truth will be out when police records my brother’s statement. They are still to do so,” he said.

He said that on June 16, when he reached the local police station around 1 pm upon hearing about the assault on his brother, the police had a version ready. “The police said it was an argument over vehicles colliding that turned nasty. Since the accused were Hindus, we did not want to make it a Hindu-Muslim issue with communal overtones. The police circle officer dictated an FIR and I signed on it. It was only two days later when a video of my brother surfaced that I realised the truth,” he told ET.

Khan said that the FIR should be changed since the video proved that the assault was done on suspicion of cow slaughter.

“The FIR may be on charges of murder and attempt to murder but the version of events is false. The case can collapse in trial. I have no time to pursue the matter with the police right now as I am trying to save my brother’s life here in hospital,” he said.

The family has no money for Samiuddin’s treatment and has requested the hospital to keep the bill pending. “We have got no financial help so far from the UP government. The sad truth is that under the BJP government in the state, there is lot of hooliganism happening in the name of the cow. Bahut ghalat ho raha hai… Kisi ko bhi jaan se maar doge kya (What is happening is all wrong… Will you kill anybody you want)?”

He further said, “Worse, the accused made a video of the assault to send a message of striking fear among Muslims – that you will suffer the same fate. I believe the police have just arrested two persons so far though over two dozen were involved in the assault.”

Local Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal leaders have meanwhile threatened an agitation saying even these two persons have been “falsely implicated” by police.

Both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have rallied behind the families of Kasim Khan and Samiuddin Khan, leading a delegation to the police on Sunday asking for justice. Yaseen Khan, however, said that he did not want to turn the matter political. “We have never dealt with the police earlier. My brother, who lives in Sadiqpura village, did not even know Qasim, who lived in Madapur village, and he was just going to his field when he was waylaid by the accused. They just caught him to make him say that the assault was taking place as he and Qasim were involved in cow slaughter. The FIR even wrongly mentions that my brother lives in Madapur village like Qasim,” he said.

The accused all belong to the Rajput-dominated Baghera Khurd village where the assault took place. Khan said that it was now incumbent upon the police to act without bias and that the state government should compensate the victims and promise them security. “In the Mohd Akhlaq lynching case in Dadri, the UP government had taken care of the medical treatment of his son, Danish Khan, who was severely injured. I am still awaiting any financial help for my brother. Will we get any help?” he asked.