The Rajasthan Home Minister Ghulab Chand Kataria stated the victim of the Alwar mob lynching died in police custody. The 28 year old man was brutally beaten by a mob of cow vigilantes. The police took a total of three hours to get the victim to a hospital which was only 20 minutes away.
Kataria said, “The evidence we have collected suggests death in custody. The time they wasted was the cause of death. After investigating we have found out that the cows were first dropped off at the gaushala (shelter). They shouldn’t have done that.”
On Friday night, Rakbar Khan and his friend Aslam were attacked by the villagers who assumed the two were cow smugglers. Khan’s friend Aslam managed to escape but Rakbar was brutally beaten with sticks and stones.
According to reports the police stopped for a tea break while taking the victim to a hospital. Khan was declared dead on arrival by the doctors. The autopsy shows Rakbar died of shock due to his severe injuries.
One of the doctors who performed the autopsy Dr. Rajeev Gupta reported, “There were injuries on the body… internal bleeding lead to the death.” Rakbar suffered more than 7 fractures from the beating. The mob managed to break Rakbar’s neck as well.
The delay by the police is being investigated by the Rajasthan officials. Action was taken immediately against the three policemen. Assistant Sub Inspector Mohan Singh was suspended and two constabled were shifted to Police Lines.
The Indian Government set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to deal with these recent lynching cases. The group will be headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
This comes after the Supreme Court asked the Government to enact a law to deal with the increasing number of lynching cases. The Apex Court termed these cases as “horrendous acts of mobocracy.”
At the end of day three of the Parliament Monsoon session Home Minister Singh said the panel would give a report within 15 days. The panel headed by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba will suggest measures to deal with mob violence. The panel will also form a legal framework to effectively deal with these cases.
The panel will report to the GoM with recommendations which will be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
