UditVani,Jamshedpur : In a landmark judgment, justice finally echoed through the corridors of Jamshedpur District Court as five accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Nagadih lynching case, eight years after the horrific incident shook the nation.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Vimlesh Kumar Sahay delivered the historic verdict on Wednesday, convicting Rajaram Hansda, Rengi Purti, Gopal Hansda, Sunil Sardar, and Tara Mandal of murder.
Several other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The Nagadih lynching incident, which took place on May 18, 2017, remains one of the most chilling episodes of mob violence in recent history.
A frenzied mob, driven by rumours of child-lifting, brutally attacked three young men—Vikas Verma, Gautam Verma, and Gangesh—in Nagadih village under Bagbera police station, even as police were present at the spot.
The victims’ 76-year-old grandmother Ramsakhi Devi desperately pleaded with the mob to spare her grandsons but was assaulted as well. She succumbed to her injuries a month later on June 20, 2017.
An FIR had been lodged against 15 named individuals and around 300 unidentified people. The case gained fresh momentum in 2023, when the Chandigarh Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report provided crucial evidence leading to the conviction of the five accused.
For the families of the victims, the judgment is both a moment of solace and a painful reminder of the tragedy. Eyewitness Uttam Verma said, “This verdict is a ray of justice for us, though our wounds will never heal.”
The court’s decision is being hailed as a symbol of hope and justice for families across the country still waiting for closure in long-pending mob violence cases.
