Hour before Alwar attack, gau rakshaks targeted 11 others

About an hour before the attack, the gau rakshaks had stopped three other Canter trucks and a pickup truck which were being used to transport cows. The men in these vehicles too reportedly showed documents to prove that they had purchased the cows at the fair in Jaipur. But the gau rakshaks still targeted them.

“Since it is a busy crossing, there were three homeguards and two NHAI contractors present at the spot. When the gau rakshaks tried to attack the men in these vehicles, a homeguard called up the Behror police station. The police reached the spot and took away the four vehicles and their occupants,” said Dharam Pal, a traffic policeman.

There were 11 men — Jamshed, 35, Ashar, 20, Ikram, 24, Zia ul Haq, 41, Farooq, 42, Komal Khan, 30, Pappu Khan, 42, Saeed Khan, 35, Taufiq Khan, 23, Kamil Khan, 30, and Devesh Kumar, 23 — in the four vehicles. All of them were sent to Behror jail.

While most of the policemen left for the police station with the 11 men and the trucks, the gau rakshaks continued to check vehicles at the Jagwas crossing. Two pickup trucks which were carrying cows caught their attention. Pehlu Khan and the others were in these vehicles. The gau rakshaks reportedly chased the vehicles, and caught up with them at a secluded spot on the highway about a kilometre ahead. They dragged the occupants out and beat them up. Some of the gau rakshaks purportedly recorded videos of the assault, which were later circulated on social media.

“Police reached an hour late. They were beating them up… a man crossed the road and ran past my stall to save his life,” said Akbar Khan, who runs a tyre repair shop and tea stall on the other side of the road.

On Wednesday, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria claimed that both sides were at fault. “Kya hai ki dono taraf se hai. Jab unko malum hai ki Rajasthan se gau taskari nahin ho sakti, kanoon bana hua hai… toh kuch gau bhakt bhi hain, jinko jaise hi soochna milti hai, is kanoon ka tehet rokne ka prayas karte hain. Rokna tak toh koi gunah nahi hai, lekin kanoon haath me lena, ye apradh hai (Both sides are at fault. When they know there is a law in Rajasthan against cow smuggling… There are some gau rakshaks who try to stop them as per the law. Stopping them is not a sin, but taking the law in their own hands is a crime),” he told ANI.

A total of six cases have been filed against the 11 men who have been detained as well as the four others who were with Pehlu Khan, under Section 5 (prohibition of export of bovine animals for slaughter), Section 8 (contravention of Section 5 to be punished with minimum six month imprisonment and maximum five years as well as a fine of maximum Rs 5,000) and Section 9 (causing hurt to bovine animal) of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act, 1995. “They didn’t have the transit letter from the competent authority — the district collector,” said Alwar SP Rahul Prakash.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to arrest the six named in the attack — Hukum Chand, Jagmal, Om Prakash, Sudheer, Rahul Saini and Navin Saini. A total of 200 unnamed people were also made accused in the case. On Wednesday evening, the SP said they had arrested Vipin Yadav, 19, Ravindra Yadav, 30, and Kalu Ram Yadav, 44, for the assault.

“We have announced a reward of Rs 5,000 for each of the named accused. We are also questioning some people. We have formed three special teams under DSP Parmal Singh,” the SP said.

A delegation led by VHP zila mantri Rajendra Prasad met Behror SDM Suresh Yadav on Monday and submitted a memorandum to protest the cases lodged against the gau rakshaks.

Meanwhile, Kailash Hospital in Behror, where Pehlu Khan and the others were admitted for treatment, denied allegations of neglect. “Khan was already suffering from coronary artery disease and had stents. On Monday evening, the shock (from the assault) triggered a cardiac arrest. We tried our best to resuscitate him but he died,” said Dr Akhil Kumar Saxena, consultant anaesthesiologist at the hospital.

“Shocking to see complete inaction by Rajasthan government after one person is killed on suspicion of beef smuggling. Shows tacit support for violent vigilantism,” tweeted State Congress president Sachin Pilot on Wednesday. Condemning the attack, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said the “state government must restrain such groups operating on national highways.”

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for Pehlu Khan’s family and Rs 10 lakh each for the four others who were assaulted. “They had valid documents, but the government failed to protect them,” said PUCL state president Kavita Srivastava.