Victim Umar Khan’s companions arrested while the accused get away scot free; PUCL seeks justice

Alwar: Rajasthan police on Monday arrested Tahir and Javed, who were travelling with dairy farmer Umar Khan, shot dead by cow vigilantes in Alwar district on November 10. They were arrested on the charges of cow smuggling while the accused got away scot free and are still absconding.
Police have claimed that Tahir and Javed were “cow smugglers” and arrested them under the provisions of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995.
It must be noted that Taher and Javed were accompanying Umar Khan when he was attacked.
Police has so far arrested only two accused Bhagwan Singh Gurjar alias Kala and Ramveer Gurjar while 4 other accused are identified but not arrested.
Social workers have strongly condemned the arrest of Taher and Javed. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties has termed it “travesty of justice”, and pointed out that they were in fact victims in an attempt to murder case and eye-witnesses of Umar’s killing. It alleged that police is more interested in reining in victims rather than arresting the killers.
Member of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Kavita Srivastava says ‘I think police is doing politics and toying with justice. Instead of arresting 4 absconding accused who had killed Umar Khan, police has arrested the victims themselves. She said the situation indicates that it is difficult for the victims of mob lynching to get justice.
“The Alwar police should have arrested the killers. They want to build pressure on these two to bargain a deal, frighten them and dilute the case. This shows that the State government has given absolute impunity to the killers,” said Kavita Srivastava.
The dismembered body of Umar, 35, a resident of Ghatmika village in Bharatpur, was found on railway tracks near Govindgarh in Alwar district. It is believed that a crowd of cow vigilantes had killed him and thrown his body on railway line.
The PUCL demanded suspension of Govindgarh police station in-charge and Alwar Superintendent of Police for allegedly providing impunity to cow vigilantes and manipulating evidence. It also demanded a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the family of the deceased and government job for one member.