2 years after lynching, Pehlu Khan, sons chargesheeted

New Delhi: Two years after Pehlu Khan was lynched to death by a mob of 'gau rakshaks' in Alwar, the Rajasthan Police have filed a chargesheet against his two sons and a truck operator for illegally transporting cattle.

Prepared on December 30 last year, the chargesheet names his two sons, Irshad and Arif, as well as the owner of the pick-up truck that was used for transporting the cattle on April 1, 2017.

The chargesheet, which comes months after the Congress formed a government in the state, was presented in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Behror on May 29 this year.

Although the incident dates back to April 2017 when the BJP was in power in the state, the chargesheet is being filed months after the Congress took over.

"The chargesheet was accepted by the court on May 24 against three persons under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act.

Since Pehlu Khan had died, he has not been chargesheeted," said Alwar Superintendent of Police Anil Paris Deshmukh. However, Pehlu Khan's name was mentioned in the summary of the chargesheet.

The police maintained that the case against Pehlu Khan, his sons, and the truck operator stood proved in the investigation. They were charged under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995.

Last year, the previous BJP government in Rajasthan had filed a similar chargesheet against two associates of Khan who were also attacked by the mob.

Amid uproar, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the investigation in the case was carried out during the regime of the previous BJP government.

"If any discrepancies will be found in the investigation, case will be re-investigated," he said.