Kataria cites closed cases to call Pehlu ‘smuggler’
QUESTION OVER CLAIM As per police records, the lynching victim’s son was booked in two cases in Haryana; local courts acquitted him in both the cases
The family of Pehlu Khan, the Muslim man killed by vigilantes this month in Alwar, has been acquitted of the charge of cow smuggling by two local courts, HT investigations have revealed, contrary to claims by the Rajasthan home minister that they were cow smugglers.
Gulab Chand Kataria had on Monday said in the state assembly that Khan belonged to a family of cow smugglers, citing two old cases pending against his son.
But Irshad, Khan’s son, has been acquitted in both the cases. The first case was registered in Nuh while the second was filed in Rohtak of Haryana in 2011. Both the cases were filed by cow vigilante groups.
Khan, waylaid by a mob on April 1 while transporting cows and beaten up mercilessly, had no cases against him. Khan died of his injuries two days later, outraging the country with many asking for immediate curbs on right-wing vigilante groups.
The police officers in Nuh and Rohtak told Hindustan Times that the cases against Irshad were more of the cruelty to animal and less of transporting cows for slaughter. In the case registered in Nuh, he was booked for cruelty and in Rohtak, an additional section of transporting cows for slaughter was later added to the case.
Irshad told HT that he has been acquitted in both cases in 2015.
In Tawdu (Nuh), he said, a man who was bringing a bullock named him as one who owns cows in the village after he was bashed up by the police. On basis of his statement, a case of cruelty to animals was registered against Irshad.
In Rohtak, Irshad said, he was arrested with 50 other people after buying bullocks from local cattle fair.
“When we were bringing the bullocks along with several other people in our village, men from Hindu outfits attacked us and the police were informed. The police registered cases of animal cruelty against fifty one of us on the pretext that we were walking the bullocks with us,” said Irshad.
The local court has, however, declared Irshad as a proclaimed person in the case who could not be produced even after repeated warrants. Others accused in the case pleaded guilty for cruelty to animals and they were released on probation after furnishing bonds of ₹30,000 each. For cow slaughter, punishment under the cow protection act is jail of up to five years and fine of up to ₹5,000.
HT checked with police authorities in Nuh and Rohtak and found that the cases were registered on complaints of cow vigilante group (gau rakshal dal). Acharya Yogendra Arya, who claims to be president of the group in Haryana, said “nothing happened in the case” blaming police for inaction.
The home minister’s statement on Khan’s criminal antecedent was from a report by Alwar police, which is also investigating Pehlu Khan’s death case.
Home minister Kataria’s statement in assembly accusing Pehlu Khan of cow smuggling was opposed by the opposition saying that the government was trying to shrug from it responsibility to catch the “real” culprits by accusing the victim of cow slaughter.
The police have not been able to arrest any of the six persons named by Khan in his dying declaration. However, six persons identified from the video of the assault that went viral have been arrested.
Speaking for the first time on the issue on Tuesday, Chief minister Vasundhara Raje said such incidents will be not be tolerated and the police was investigating the case. She, however, did not respond to Kataria’s statement in the house. (With inputs from Hardik Anand in Rohtak)