by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
NEW DELHI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Local government in India's western state of Rajasthan Saturday filed a chargesheet against a dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, two years after he was lynched by cow vigilantes, and his sons for transporting cattle allegedly without permission, officials said.
Khan and his two sons were transporting cows that they had bought at a cattle fair in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, to their home in Haryana. On April 1, 2017, they were stopped on the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway by cow vigilantes and severely beaten up. A few days later, Khan succumbed to his injuries at hospital.
An amateur video recorded on cellphone showed Khan being yanked by the neck, thrown to the ground and kicked.
"Today a charge sheet was presented in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Behror. In it, Pehlu Khan has been charged posthumously and accused under sections 5, 8 and 9 of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 and Rules, 1995. The chargesheet also names his two sons, Irshad and Ari, besides the owner of the pick-up truck that was used for transporting the cattle," an official said.
The filing of chargesheet comes months after the congress formed local government in the state. The development has triggered an uproar in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the investigation in the case was carried out during the regime of the previous Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government.
"Investigation of this case was done in the past during the BJP government and chargesheet was presented. If any discrepancies are found in the investigation, case will be re-investigated," said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
There are two reports filed with the police in the case, one was against eight people who lynched Khan and the other one was against him and his sons for transporting cattle allegedly without the district collector's permission.
The accused in the first report are out on bail and two of them are untraceable.
Legal experts say case against Khan will be closed as he has died, but it will continue against his sons.
Congress party, India's main opposition party, have been attacking BJP over the lynchings at the hands of cow vigilantes.
