Rajasthan Police Watered Down Charges To 'Weaken' Investigation Into Pehlu Khan's Murder By Cow Vigilantes, Reveals Fact-Finding Report

The investigation team termed the police action a "deliberate attempt to weaken the cases against the accused gaurakshaks".

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 27 October 2017 10:35 am

The Rajasthan police purposely tried to 'weaken' the investigation into the murder of dairy farmer Pehlu Khan allegedly by cow vigilantes in April this year by delaying filing of FIR and invoking lenient IPC sections, an independent fact-finding team has observed.

The investigation team termed the police action a "deliberate attempt to weaken the cases against the accused gaurakshaks", reports The Times Now.

Activists and lawyers released a report titled "How the police are protecting the murderers of Pehlu Khan" and "sabotaging" the case against so-called "gau-rakshaks". The report also alleged that there has been "medical manipulation" in the case.

"Clearly, Khan's severe beating led to his death. Yet, the FIR does not invoke Section 307 of the IPC for the offence of 'attempt to murder' which provides for imprisonement of 10 years to life. Instead, the FIR invokes Sec 308, which only takes cognisance of 'attempt to culpable homicide not amounting to murder'.

"The chargesheet added Sec 302 for murder, which is non- bailable. Yet, the accused secured bail as the prosecution failed to defend the charges and the arrests at the Rajasthan High Court," it said.

Irshad Khan, son of Pehlu Khan has now sought for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the incident.

Irshad questioned the Rajasthan Police's clean chit to the six people named by the deceased in his dying declaration and alleged that the state government "conspired" to let them go scot- free.

The CID-crime branch in Rajasthan had given a clean chit to six people, accused of killing Pehlu Khan, in September this year. The police said in the report that there was no evidence that the six men were present at the time of the attack.

"I was with him (Pehlu) when the attack took place around 7 pm on April 1. These people were addressing each other by name. Even the police had reached the spot. But now it is being claimed that police got to know of the issue only around 4 am," he said.

Khan, 55, and four others were attacked allegedly by the cow vigilantes in Alwar's Behror while they were on their way to Haryana after purchasing cattle in Rajasthan's Ramgarh on April 1. Khan succumbed to his injuries at a hospital on April 3.

(With inputs from agencies)