JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court issued bailable warrants against the accused in the Pehlu Khan lynching case on Monday.
The warrants have been issued against the six accused who were acquitted in the case by the Alwar sessions court on August 14, 2019, giving them benefit of doubt based on the police probe. Those let off by the sessions court were Vipin Yadav, Kalu Ram, Dayanand, Ravindra Kumar, Yogesh Kumar and Bheem Rathi. Three of the nine accused are minors.
The government and the family of Pehlu Khan's son had appealed against the acquittal.
The division bench of Justice Goverdhan Bardhar and Justice Vijay Vishnoi issued bailable warrants to secure their presence in the court returnable within eight weeks.
Khan, 55, and his sons were transporting cows, after purchasing them from a cattle fair in Jaipur, to their home town Nuh in Haryana, when they were waylaid near Behror by self-styled cow vigilantes and beaten up on the accusation of smuggling cattle. Khan died from his injuries in a hospital after two days.
The ADJ court ruled that the video footage of the incident that went viral on the social media could not be treated as admissible evidence in the absence of its certification by the forensic science laboratory. Besides, Khan’s sons reportedly could not identify the accused and the prosecution could not prove that they were the ones visible in the video.The court also found contradictions in the cause of death as variedly caused by heart attack and injuries inflicted during the attack. The man who recorded the video on his mobile phone did not testify, which created doubts about the identity of the accused.
After registering the murder case, the police had also lodged cases for cow smuggling against Khan, his sons and other companions.
Following the acquittal, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had accused the BJP government for tardy investigation. He called for an appeal against the lower court ruling in the high court.
The state government set up a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the police lapses in investigation and decided to pursue the case in the high court.
The state assembly also passed a Bill against mob lynching on August 5, 2019, making Rajasthan the second state after Manipur to have a dedicated legislation that criminalises lynching as a special offence. But it is still pending with the governor.
