‘Rajasthan police, gau goons acting in tandem’

Despite paying lip-service to ‘justice’ for late Pehlu Khan, killed at Alwar by ‘gau goons’ (vigilante groups set up to stop cow slaughter), Rajasthan Police is yet to take any action against people named in the FIR, alleged Subhasini Ali, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member.

According to Subhasini Ali, who had led a CPI(Marxist) delegation to Alwar:

• The false case registered against late Pehlu Khan’s sons is yet to be dropped
• Police is yet to return the cash amounting to over ₹25,000 that was being carried by the dairy farmer.
• Police is yet to arrest people named in the FIR who are the kingpins
• Police is refusing to disclose the whereabouts of the cattle Pehlu Khan was allegedly smuggling

Alleging an elaborate racket being conducted by ‘gau goons’ in connivance with the police, the CPI(M) leader pointed out that it was easy for the police to switch the cattle in connivance with ‘gau goons’.

While she has no evidence, Ali was told by people that cattle were being sold off by the ‘goons’ with a section of the police as partners.

Ali’s suspicion was aroused when the investigating officer claimed that the deceased Pehlu Khan was transporting cows which were no longer giving milk, which was proof that they were being smuggled for slaughter.

But Alwar Police refused to disclose how they arrived at this conclusion and where the cattle had been kept. While the CPI(M) delegation led by Subhasini Ali demanded that they be shown the cattle, the request was turned down.

“What would prevent the police from selling the milch animals and produce animals past milk-bearing age and claim that the latter had been seized,” wondered the CPI(M) leader.

While the investigating officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police Parmal Singh, also repeated the claim that Pehlu Khan and his sons were not carrying valid papers, the delegation produced photo copies of the receipt issued by Jaipur Municipal Corporation which clearly mentioned the transaction details, name and address in Pehlu Khan’s Haryana residence.

While the Police claims that Pehlu Khan did not have a permit from the District Magistrate for transporting cattle out of Rajasthan, the delegation says they were told by the SDM that even he was not aware of the rule. Even the Jaipur Municipal Corporation was oblivious of the rule or else it would not have sold the cattle to a dairy farmer from Haryana without the said permit.

The delegation, comprising two MPs from West Bengal, discovered that Alwar Police had also arrested 11 more Muslim dairy farmers from Mewat, Haryana, before Pehlu Khan was lynched but this was not covered in the media. These 11 are still in police custody, said Ali.

The delegation also wondered how the ‘gau goons’ learnt of the movement of the vehicles travelling from Jaipur, 160 kilometres away, and that it was carrying cattle? The members suspect that some police was involved in passing on the information.

The District Magistrate, however, was extremely sympathetic, the CPI(M) leader recalled. The Alwar District Magistrate not only contradicted the police and confirmed that Pehlu Khan was indeed carrying valid papers but also said that the deceased had also paid taxes.

While Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told a CPI(M) delegation that justice would be done, he appears helpless in getting BJP-ruled Rajasthan to move on the matter. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje refused to meet the delegation.