Ghazanfar Abbas, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, Sep 16: Slain Haryana dairy farmer Pehlu Khan’s family on Friday said they fear for their life while attending the court case in Rajasthan and demanded transfer of the case outside the state. They alleged that they are getting death threats from those who were involved in Khan’s lynching and the local political leaders associated with the state’s ruling party BJP.
While addressing a press conference, Irshad Khan, son of 55-year-old Pehlu Khan who was lynched by a mob of Gau Rakshaks in Alwar district of Rajasthan in April this year, said he and his family have lost faith in the Rajasthan police after it recently gave a clean chit to six main accused of the lynching. He said that his family has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court for a thorough probe into the 1st April incident under its watch. The six men were named by Khan senior in his dying statement before a police office at hospital bed.
Irshad Khan further alleged that the state police and agencies are working under political pressure.
“Those who have been given clean chit are the same people who had attacked us. BJP and state police both are involved in letting them free. We are not satisfied; the case should be thoroughly probed by the Supreme Court” Irshad Khan urged.
“This is a cheating with us. We can’t go to the court in Behror (Alwar). We will be killed if went there again. They have threatened us to kill. During one hearing outside the court, one of the accused threatened me. Since then we have been feeling scared.”
“So, how can we fight the case in Rajasthan,” Irshad asked.
On 1st April, a gang of self-styled cow vigilantes (Gau Rakshaks) attacked 55-year-old Haryana’s dairy farmer Pehlu Khan and four other Muslim dairy farmers including his two sons in Behror of Alwar district of the state when they were returning after purchasing some cows and calves from a government-run fair in Jaipur. They were brutally beaten up by the mob while they had valid papers from the Municipal authorities of Jaipur. Khan succumbed to injuries in hospital two days later.
On 7th July, the state government had transferred the case from the local police to the CB-CID. The CB-CID has now asked the Alwar police to remove the names of the six accused in the case saying that they were not found present at the site of crime according to its investigation.
Talking to IndiaTomorrow.net, he said, “We had hoped that we would get justice from the state police and court as everything is clear in the video as to how we were attacked. But now we have lost hope. The clean chit given by CB-CID to these accused is illegitimate. All those who have been given clean chit were mentioned in the dying statement of my father. There should be thorough probe in our case under supervision of Supreme Court after transferring the case outside Rajasthan.”
There are total 15 accused enlisted in the FIR. Of them, the police have closed cases against six accused namely Om Yadav (45), Hukum Chand Yadav (44), Sudhir Yadav (45), Jagmal Yadav (73), Naveen Sharma (48) and Rahul Saini (24). The probe will continue against nine other accused.
The press conference was called by activist and businessman Tehseen Poonawalla. He is petitioner in the Supreme Court in a case seeking ban on Gau Rakshaks. He was accompanied by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and lawyer-activist Shehzad Poonawalla.
(L-R) Tehseen Poonawalla, Digvijaya Singh, Pehlu Khan’s son Irshad Khan, Zaibuna (Khan’s wife) and Shehzad Poonawalla at the presence conference in New Delhi on 15th Sep 2017. (Photo – IndiaTomorrow.net)
Speaking to media Singh accused BJP of protecting the culprits.
“State home minister and local MLAs are calling it a normal incident. This is not just a single incident. In all the BJP ruled states, there is a pre-planned attempt to protect criminals,” he alleged.
“Now since there is a threat to the family of Pehlu khan from these criminals who are getting patronage from state BJP government then who will protect them,” he questioned.
“Their own lawyers are asking Pehlu Khan’s family not to come during day time, rather come in the night.”
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh talking to media persons in Delhi over clean chit to some accused in Pehlu Khan lynching case
“Obviously the investigatigating authorities have been pressurized by the BJP government in Rajasthan to let off all these people who have been named in the dying declaration (of Pehlu Khan). Irshad, son of Pehlu Khan who was also attacked, is an eyewitness. Even he was not called by the investigation authorities to take his statement and identification. So this is a gross injustice,” said Singh.
Talking to IndiaTomorrow.net, Tehseen Poonawalla said that according to Supreme Court’s ruling the dying declaration must be taken as evidence.
“Police dropped the names of the accused illegally. It is not for the police to drop the names in a dying declaration; it is for the court to do it. So the police are obviously hands in glove with these people,” Tehseen said.
Activist-Businessman Tehseen Poonawalla talking to IndiaTomorrow.net in Delhi over clean chit to accused in Pehlu Khan lynching case
Poonawalla said that he would collect support of political parties in order for the Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA) law be introduced in the upcoming session of the Parliament. His team has drafted the law meant to check mob lynching.
At the press conference, he gave a cheque of Rs 25000/- to Zaibuna, wife of diseased Pehlu Khan. He also urged people to help Khan’s family.
