The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday cancelled the cow smuggling case against Pehlu Khan, a Muslim dairy farmer, who was lynched by a mob two years ago in Alwar.
The high court has also ordered the scrapping of an FIR lodged against his sons in the case.
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The Rajasthan Police had in June filed a chargesheet against Pehlu Khan and his sons in a cattle smuggling case.
The chargesheet accused Khan of transporting cattle from Rajasthan to Haryana allegedly without the permission of the district collector.
Now that Pehlu Khan is no more, the case was set to be initiated against his sons.
The police had chargesheeted Khan’s sons Irshad (25) and Arif (22) under sections 5, 8 and 9 while charges were framed against the deceased under section 6 of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995.
Reacting to the chargesheet, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had said that probe was conducted in the past during the BJP government and chargesheet was presented, adding that the case will be re-investigated if any discrepancies are found.
According to an ANI report, the chargesheet against Khan was prepared on December 30 last year, 13 days after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government came into power in Rajasthan.
In 2018, the previous BJP government in the state had filed a similar charge sheet against two associates of Khan, who were also attacked by the mob.
However, Ashok Gehlot sought to clarify that the killed dairy farmer was not charged by his government.
In April 2017, Pehlu Khan and four others were brutally assaulted by “gau rakshaks” on the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway while they were transporting cows they had bought in a Jaipur fair to their home in Haryana.
Khan succumbed to his injuries two days after the incident.
A video that was widely circulated in social media showed a group of men mercilessly assaulting Khan.
Meanwhile, Earlier this August, the Alwar sessions court acquitted all six accused in the case, giving them the benefit of the doubt.
The hearing of the case ended on August 7 and nine people were held accused in the case which also included three minors who were out on bail.
In September 2017, six persons of the total 15 arrested in connection with the incident, were given a clean chit by the Rajasthan police.
