ALWAR: A Muslim man brutally beaten up by gau rakshaks in Rajasthan’s Alwar district has died from his injuries, police said on Tuesday. The assault by cow vigilantes has been attack caught on camera.
Pehlu Khan, 55, died late on Monday night in a hospital where he was admitted for treatment.
Khan and others were injured when a mob attacked nearly 15 people hailing from Haryana, while transporting cows in vehicles on the Behror Highway in Alwar district on Saturday, the police said.
The group was returning from a fair in Jaipur where they had reportedly purchased a few cows, reported The Indian Express.
“I had all the valid documents with me. We were not even trying to hide the cows, as we were taking them in a pick-up truck, Azmat, 22,” told The Indian Express.
“I told them I had all the documents but they pulled us out of the vehicle and beat us up. They took away Rs 35,000 from me. I later lost consciousness and woke up in a hospital at around 1 am on Sunday,” he said.
According to Azmat’s testimony, the gau rakshaks stopped their vehicle on Saturday evening and allowed the driver, Arjun, to leave.
“Before he died, Pehlu told us that they beat him up and then told him to run, saying ‘tu buddha aadmi h, bhaag’ (you’re an old man, run away)… But they chased him and beat him up again,” said Pehlu’s uncle, Hussain Khan.
Four others who were injured – Azmat, Irshad, Aarif and Rafiq – returned to Nuh on Tuesday, alleging that they were not given proper treatment at the Kailash Hospital in Behror. They claim that Khan died because he did not receive proper care, an allegation that the hospital has denied.
Ramesh Chand Sinsinwar, SHO, Behror police station said an FIR has been lodged against the gau rakshaks under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 147 (destruction of property), 308 (culpable homicide) and 379 (theft). After Khan’s death, the police have added Section 302 (murder) as well.
While purported videos of the incident are circulating on social media, no arrests have been made so far.
The transporters too, have reportedly been booked under the Rajasthan Bovine Animals (Prohibition of Slaughter & Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act 1995.
(With inputs from IANS and The Indian Express.)