On Wednesday, the Indian court however acquitted all six persons accused of lynching a 55-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan from Haryana state in 2017. He was allegedly killed by a group of self-proclaimed cow protectors who were against the killing of cows, revered by Hindus at large.
The incident happened in Alwar – 190 kilometres south-west of the national capital Delhi, when Khan was transporting cattle bought from an animal fair in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. The group stopped his vehicle and accused him of taking the cattle to slaughter.
Though Khan had documents to prove the purchase, he was brutally attacked. Khan later succumbed to injuries in a hospital, but his colleagues survived.
Though the incident was caught on camera, Rajasthan police after an investigation cleared the attackers in court and instead filed a case against Khan and a couple of others for “illegal transportation”.
Based on the charge sheet, the Additional District Judge of Alwar on Wednesday acquitted all six accused persons for lack of evidence on Wednesday. The court refused to accept the video as evidence and vindicated the accused.
Several persons expressed indignation over the judgement and took to social media to express their anger, as some remarked: “No one killed Pehlu Khan”.
The Pehlu Khan incident was widely condemned across India and several parties and organizations called for a crack-down on such self-styled cow-protection groups.