Alwar mob lynching: Pehlu Ram charged with cow smuggling; CM Gehlot reacts

Alwar : Making a U-turn, Rajasthan Police has filed a chargesheet against Pehlu Ram, a dairy farmer, who was lynched by mob in Alwar in 2017 for allegedly smuggling cows.

The chargesheet filed against him is under Sections 5, 8 and 9 of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 and Rules, 1995.

On April 1, 2017, Pehlu Ram and his sons were gheraoed by a group of cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks in Rajasthan’s Alwar when they were ferrying their cattle. They were brutally beaten up on suspicion of cow smuggling.

Reacting to this, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “Investigation of this case was done in the past during BJP government and chargesheet was presented. If any discrepancies will be found in the investigation, the case will be re-investigated.”

An Indian Express report quoted Khan’s eldest son Irshad (25), “We lost our father in the attack by cow vigilantes and now we have been charged as cow smugglers. We had hoped that the new Congress government in Rajasthan will review and withdraw the case against us but now a chargesheet has been filed against us. We hoped for justice after the government change but that didn’t happen.”

Irshad was also attacked with bullets by some unidentified men while he was on his way to court in Rajasthan’s Behrod for a hearing in the case of Pehlu Khan lynched by a mob on the suspicion of smuggling cows.