Alwar lynching: Chargesheet says mob killed Rakbar

Rakbar Khan died in the wee hours on July 21, after being severely beaten by a group of cow vigilantes who suspected him of smuggling cows.

Seven weeks after Rakbar Khan was killed, police in Alwar district has filed chargesheet albeit contrary to home minister Gulab Chand Kataria who had said that Rakbar had died in police custody, the chargesheet claims that he was killed by mob and does not mention policemen.

Rakbar Khan (31) died in the wee hours on July 21, after being severely beaten by a group of cow vigilantes in Lalawandi village who suspected him of smuggling cows.

Later, when it was revealed that the policemen stopped for having tea instead of taking him to hospital and then he was kept in police station for hours as they first went to deliver cows to Gaushala, home minister Kataria during visit of the spot had said that Rakbar Khan had died in police custody. Though, he had denied that he was beaten in the police station as the cow vigilantes made accused in the case had alleged.

The 25-page chargesheet filled before the additional chief judicial magistrate was accepted conditionally by the court as it did not contain FSL report. The court had initially refused to accept the chargesheet but accepted it when the police gave undertaking of submitting the same within a month.

The chargesheet has named four persons Paramjeet Singh, Naresh, Dharmendra Yadav and Vijay Sharma accused of murder. First three are in jail while Vijay Sharma has been declared absconding. The police are also probing role of Nawal Kishore Sharma who had tipped of the police about suspected cow smugglers. However, there is no mention of policemen in the charge sheet who had confessed their mistake of delaying medical treatment to Rakbar. “Whether Rakbar died or not is being subject of a separate judicial probe,” deputy superintendent of police Ashok Chouhan said.

However, the chargesheet is at odds with the FIR filed by the police. In the FIR, the police had said that two persons were standing at the crime spot when it reached there but the chargesheet mentions presence of all four accused.

The police have also not registered case of cow smuggling against Rakbar.