Families alleged ‘mob lynching’, but police chargesheet says cow transporters ‘jumped to their deaths’

Qureshi and his cousin Chand Miya Khan (23), both from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, and Guddu Khan (35) from Shamli district, were transporting cattle from Mahasamund to state capital Raipur on June 7 when they were allegedly chased by a mob on suspicion of cow smuggling and were later found lying on the rocks below a bridge.

While Chand Miya died on the spot, Guddu died on the way to the hospital that day and Qureshi succumbed to his injuries on June 18.

The SIT’s chargesheet said that the five men who identified themselves as gau rakshaks (cow protector) were waiting in three cars to intercept the victims and gave their truck a chase, periodically pelting it with rocks and breaking its windshield. The chase allegedly continued for 53 kilometres, with the chargesheet claiming that the accused did this with the full knowledge that it was illegal and could lead to death or injuries.

Scared, the victims allegedly stopped their car on the bridge over the Mahanadi river and jumped down in a bid to escape.

Sources said that a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) could not conclusively establish assault. Additionally, the chargesheet was filed based on circumstantial and technical evidence, with no eyewitness accounts, they said.

Qureshi’s cousin Shoaib Khan had however claimed before the police that he received a frantic call from his cousin saying that they had been assaulted.

“Qureshi was a helper. He called and kept the phone in his pocket. He was screaming that his hand and leg were broken. He was pleading, ‘bhaiya paani pila do ek ghoot. Maro mat bas paani pila do (give me a sip of water, please don’t beat me)’,” Shoaib had said. “We could also hear some men ask him, ‘kahan se laaye ho… chodenge nahi (where did you bring it from… we will not spare you)’,” he had told The Indian Express earlier.

At that time, police had registered an FIR under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 307 (attempt to murder). However, after Qureshi’s death on June 18, the police claimed that his postmortem report did not mention injuries from assault and dropped the attempted murder charge.

When contacted about the chargesheet on Wednesday, Additional Superintendent (Raipur Rural) Kirtan Rathore reiterated: “The assault never took place. The three got scared and jumped.”

However, Shoaib, based on whose statement the police filed its first FIR, accused the police of lying. He also said he would take legal counsel on their next course of action.

“I told you the truth. I got a call from Saddam who said he was being beaten. My friend who was with me got a call from Chand, who said that their vehicle was stopped. I could hear Saddam screaming and crying for help and asking for water,” he told The Indian Express.