Oriental denies claim to victim of mob lynching citing criminal act

Tripura defeated Manipur by 75 runs in the Women Cricket Under 19 T 20 League 2018-19, played at Nimpur Ground in Cuttack of Odisha.  Tripura in North East India is third-smallest state in the country.  It is bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south, and west, and the Indian states of Assam and Mizoram to the east.

The area of modern 'Tripura' was ruled for several centuries by the Tripuri dynasty. The independent Tripuri Kingdom (or Hill Tippera) joined the newly independent India in 1949.  The Ujjayanta Palace is a museum and the former palace of the Kingdom of Tripura situated in Agartala, which is now the capital of the Indian state of Tripura. The palace was constructed between 1899 and 1901 by the King of Tripura, and stands on the banks of two lakes surrounded by gardens. It was the home of the ruling Manikya dynasty until Tripura's merger into India in 1949.  Ujjayanta Palace is now a State Museum; its name was given by Rabindranath Tagore, the first Nobel Prize laureate in Literature in Asia and a frequent visitor to the princely state as guest of the Tripura royal family.

Agartala is in news for wrong reasons in recent past.  Sukanta Chakraborty, 36, who was appealing to the public on behalf of the administration to refrain from rumour-mongering on social media,  himself fell victim of a mass hysteria over child-lifting that has claimed two lives and left as many as six people injured in three separate incidents in the past 48 hours, forcing the government to suspend all mobile internet services for two days. Chakraborty’s lynching came just hours after Uttar Pradesh resident Zahir Khan, who had been selling crockery and garments in remote markets of the state for the past 20 years, was killed and three others severely injured after 300-odd mob attacked them on suspicion of being child-lifters at Murabari in West Tripura district, about 30 km from Agartala, police sources told Outlook.

The trigger for the three back-to-back attacks, the sources said, were the alleged reports about illegal harvesting of the kidneys and other organs of an 11-year-old boy, Purna Biswas, who was found dead in the Tulabagan area of West Tripura district.  Amid reports of clashes between locals and the police over the incident, chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb took to social media to debunk the rumours, and claimed that the kidneys and other organs of the boy were found intact, citing the autopsy report.

The PSU – Oriental Insurance Co had issued GPA earlier in favour of Governor of Uttar Pradesh for the coverage of personal accidental insurance benefit up to a maximum of Rs.5.00 lakhs to the head of the family/bread winner of the covered family.   Mukhyamantri Kisan Evam Sarvhit Bima Yojna (earlier name Samajwadi Kisan Evam Sarvhit Bima Yojna) was introduced by the Government of U.P., insuring Head/Bread winner of the families of farmers and also for landless farmers, small businessman, labours, shopkeepers, coolies etc. of the Uttar Pradesh, whose income was below Rs.75,000/- per annum. Personal Accident policies in general, inter-alia exclude  death /injury / disablement   (a) from intentional self-injury, suicide or attempted suicide, (b) whilst under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (c) whilst engaging in Aviation or ballooning or whilst mounting into, dismounting from or traveling in any aircraft other than as a passenger (fare paying or otherwise) in any duly licensed standard type of aircraft anywhere in the world, (d) directly or indirectly caused by venereal disease/s, or insanity, (e) arising or resulting from the insured committing any breach of law with criminal intent.

Today, read a report in National Herald web edition that Oriental insurance had repudiated a claim of Tripura lynching victim stating that  the deceased was killed by the public because at that time he was involved in a crime.

In a detailed report, the paper reports that the wife of the deceased received a letter from   the Muzaffarnagar branch of the Oriental Insurance Company. The letter she has received from the insurance company mentions that the deceased was killed by the public because at that time the deceased was involved in the crime of attempting to kidnap. Therefore, under Mukhyamantri Kisan Sarvhit Bima Yojana, the person is understood to be involved in a criminal conspiracy at the time of murder. So the claim is not determined, the correspondence hence is closed.”

The deceased Zahid had 2 bighas of land, and under Uttar Pradesh Sarvajit Kisan Bima Yojana, after the death of the farmer due to accident or murder, his family gets compensation of ₹5 lakh. Zahid has three children. His family had applied for compensation under Uttar Pradesh Sarvahit Kisan Bima Yojanaand has received this response.

Newspaper report further citing Tripura police investigator states this to be  incorrect.  It adds that the victim’s family has not received any government aid. His family applied for compensation under this insurance scheme. It was examined by the local tehsil. After 4 months, the Insurance Company has closed the claim with a letter of repudiation. The family too stated that it is totally wrong and that he never had any criminal case against him, the killing was claimed to be a fall-out of child-lifting in the area. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

19^th Oct 2018.

Source : https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/tripura-mob-lynching-victim-zahid-mentioned-as-criminal-in-government-insurance-company