No One Killed Pehlu Khan?

In the August 14 acquittal of six men charged with the 2017 lynching of Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Haryana, Alwar additional district and sessions judge Sarita Swami condemned the police probe as shoddy.

- Rohit Parihar

While the judge found that a forensic report had upheld the genuineness of the video of the attack on Khan, she said one of the investigating officers claimed the video had never been sent for such a test. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, whose Congress government took over from the BJP in December 2018, has said a special investigation team (SIT) will be formed to examine and correct lapses. Khan’s son Irshad said his family was in shock but determined to see the process through to a higher court. The Gehlot government has also indicated its intention to appeal against the judgment.

For anyone who has been following the investigation, though, the court’s withering review of the police efforts was not a surprise. From the start, the police investigation has been subject to the intense scrutiny of political lobbies, pressure groups and activists. Simultaneous investigations had been launched into Khan’s lynching and the possible smuggling of cattle by him.