No One Killed Pehlu

Alwar Mob Lynching Case Timeline

- Aamod Vairagkar

A Muslim man from Haryana died on 3rd April 2017, days after being allegedly thrashed by ‘gau rakshaks’ in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. Pehlu Khan, 55, was among 15 people who were beaten up on the Behror Highway after they were accused of cow smuggling. A relative of Khan alleged that the cows were being transported legally for the purpose of dairy and that they had the documents to prove it. He alleged that the cow vigilantes beat them up and tore up the documents.

Although, the present Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, called the information “factually incorrect”, the State police acknowledged that Pehlu was indeed booked along with his two sons for cow smuggling under the provisions of the Rajasthan Bovine Animals (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act. However, his name was dropped later because deceased people can’t be tried.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was convinced that Pehlu Khan was not lynched by a mob in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. Defending his Government in the Rajya Sabha, Naqvi had declared that “the incident did not take place on the ground.” But mounting evidence surrounding the gruesome video suggested otherwise.

The most crucial piece of evidence remained a video that went viral after Pehlu and sons were thrashed brutally, reportedly by gau rakshaks over allegations of cow smuggling. The video showed a mob first dragging and then bashing around 15 men on the Behror Highway. The video also showed a man being pushed to the ground, his white kurta stained with blood. Pehlu later succumbed to injuries at a Behror hospital.