‘Govt not interested in contesting case’: Rakbar Khan lynching case SPP slams Ashok Gehlot government

He says, “I also reveal that the government is not interested to contest the case. In such eventuality, I am not able to appear in the case in future.”

Talking to The Indian Express, Naqvi said, “I had written a letter to the district collector – who is the head of prosecution – in late 2022, where I had said that there is no one who meets me or coordinates with me. I said that it seems you are not interested and want to let them (the accused) be freed. This caused a stir and an ADM and a tehsildar were appointed. But till date, I have not even heard their voice on a call, let alone seen them, even though I keep visiting Alwar repeatedly.”

Naqvi said that the earlier Alwar SP Tejaswani Gautam had deputed an additional SP to assist him and he is the only person who assists him as of now.

He alleged that going by the administration’s attitude and non-payment of his fee for the last three hearings, it seems that the administration was not interested in the case. “The payment comes from the home department [which is with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot] but whenever I ask, the district administration says that they have not received the funds yet,” Naqvi said.

As for the status of the case, he said that the prosecution had examined 67 witnesses and now the defence witnesses are being examined, and so far, one has been examined.

Rakbar Khan, 31, was transporting cows on foot in the night between July 20 and 21, 2018, with Aslam Khan, 32, when the duo was allegedly stopped by villagers in Lalwandi under Ramgarh police station in Alwar. While Rakbar was beaten to death, Aslam managed to escape. They were headed for their village Kolgaon in Haryana, nearly a dozen kilometres from Lalwandi. Rakbar’s death had led to an outcry, following which the top police administration of Rajasthan, including the then home minister Gulab Chand Kataria, had visited the spot and ordered a judicial inquiry.

In February 2021, Rakbar’s mother Habiban, then 73, and Aslam had moved a transfer application in the court of the district and sessions judge, Alwar, saying that they have “no hope” from the ADJ court which is hearing the case, and had sought a transfer of the case.

Habiban had claimed that “the case has been ‘managed’ by the accused, who have openly told them that they will ensure the judgement is in their favour”.

Later that month, days before the next hearing, the Rajasthan government appointed senior advocate Naqvi as SPP. Naqvi, a senior advocate in the Rajasthan High Court, has been the chairman of the Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqfs and is currently its member. He has also been the chairman of the Bar Council of Rajasthan and was also the additional advocate general with the Rajasthan government.

The development comes days after the killing of two Muslim youths of Rajasthan by ‘gau rakshaks’ in Haryana.