Six Years On, Families Still Seek Justice for Jamshedpur Lynching Incident

Families of the 2017 Jamshedpur lynching victims are yet to receive justice, as forensic evidence and a comprehensive investigation report remain pending.

JAMSHEDPUR – May 18 marks the grim six-year anniversary of the mob lynching of three young men and an elderly woman in Nagadih, Jamshedpur.

The families of the victims continue to seek justice, with no resolution in sight.

On that fateful night in 2017, Gautam Verma, Vikas Verma, their grandmother Ramsakhi Devi, and family friend Gangesh Gupta were brutally beaten to death by a mob over child theft rumors.

The incident, occurring under the jurisdiction of the Bagbera police station, was captured on video, with local police reportedly helpless against the violence.

According to reports, the police force was not timely summoned, nor did they use adequate force to quell the situation.

The horrific act was filmed by bystanders, with the footage becoming a critical piece of evidence in the investigation.

Six years on, the families of Verma and Gupta still wait for justice, as the forensic investigation report of the video evidence remains unreleased.

Despite a court notice demanding the report two years ago, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has not provided any results.

Uttam Verma, brother to two of the victims and eyewitness to the incident, commemorates the tragic event each year with a tribute at his home.

With the families of the victims seeing the mob lynching incident politicized and viewed through the lens of religion, Uttam has become a pillar of support in their quest for justice.

While similar incidents, like the 2019 Seraikela lynching, received national attention and compensation for the victims, the Nagadih victims and their families feel forgotten by politicians and the justice system.