After filing charge sheet, Rajasthan Police seek court’s nod to reinvestigate Pehlu Khan lynching case
Rajasthan Police said they want to reinvestigate the case after Pehlu Khan’s family raised some valid objections after the charge sheet was filed.
The Rajasthan Police has sought permission from a local court to reinvestigate the cow smuggling case against the two sons of Pehlu Khan, the dairy farmer who was lynched two years ago for allegedly transporting the bovines illegally, a top cop said Tuesday.
Inspector general of police (Jaipur range) S Sengathir said Alwar Police had filed an application on July 5 in the court of additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) in Behror seeking permission to reinvestigate the case of cattle smuggling against Khan’s two sons.
“Pehlu Khan’s family raised some valid objections after we filed the charge sheet against three of them, and we have moved an application in the ACJM court to seek permission to reinvestigate the case in light of the objections,” Sengathir said.
The court is yet to decide on the application, said Alwar’s superintendent of police Deshmukh Paris Anil.
Rajasthan Police registered FIR No. 253/2017 at Behror police station in Alwar against Pehlu Khan, Irshad, 25, Arif, 22, and Khan Mohammad, 55, under different sections of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 on April 1, 2017.
On December 30, 2018, Alwar police completed investigation in the case and filed the charge sheet in the Behror ACJM court on May 24, charging Irshad and Arif with cattle smuggling. The charge sheet said because Pehlu Khan is dead, nothing can be done against him.
Also read: Withdraw charge sheet, quash FIRs against Pehlu Khan: PUCL
Khan Mohammad, owner of the pickup truck in which Pehlu Khan and his sons were carrying cattle, has been charged under section 6 of the Act as the abettor.
Police wants to reinvestigate the case on the basis of three points: one, if the men had a valid ‘ravanna’ (acknowledgment receipt) from Jaipur Nagar Nigam (JMC); two, if the cattle were milch cows; and three, the purpose of purchase of the cattle, Sengathir said.
Pehlu Khan’s two sons have also moved an application in the court on July 5 to point out that police investigation ignored certain facts.
HT has a copy of the application in which the two sons said they bought cattle from Jaipur’s weekly cattle market for their dairy. “We gave police medical certificates that proved the cows were milking but police ignored that during its investigation,” the application said.
Irshad had earlier said that they had expected justice from the Congress government in Rajasthan and not a charge sheet.
