The probe into the lynching and death of Pehlu Khan by alleged cow vigilantes in Alwar district last month has been handed over to an Additional SP in the "larger interest" of the case, amid criticism over slow progress in the investigation.
Now, Additional SP (Kotputli) Ram Swaroop Sharma will investigate the case of Khan's death instead of DSP Behror Parmal Singh Gurjar, a senior police official said.
"The investigating officer in the case has been changed in larger interest of the case," Jaipur Range Inspector General of Police Hemant Priyadarshy told PTI.
Asked if the investigating officer has been changed on the request of Khan's family members who have been criticising about slow progress in the case, he reiterated saying, "The investigating officer has been changed in the larger interest of the case and anything beyond this is mere a speculation."
55-year-old Pehlu Khan, hailing from Nuh in Haryana, had died in a hospital in Behror of Alwar district on April 3, two days after he and four others were attacked by a mob of cow vigilantes while transporting cattle procured from a weekly market in Jaipur to their village.
A video footage of the incident had went viral on social media.
The issue also rocked Parliament and Rajasthan State Assembly where opposition mounted pressure on the government for swift action against the accused involved in the lynching incident.
Police had registered a case of culpable homicide against six named and 200 unnamed accused. An FIR was registered on the basis of Khan's statement which he gave from his bed in ICU.
After Khan's death, the section of culpable homicide was replaced with section for murder (302 of the IPC).
The named accused include Om Yadav (45), Hukum Chand Yadav (44), Sudhir Yadav (45), Jagmal Yadav (73), Naveen Sharma (48) and Rahul Saini (24).
All six have not been arrested yet.
"So far, we have not found any concrete evidence against those named in the FIR, so we cannot tak action against them," the IG said.
However, seven persons have been arrested after they were identified from the videos of the lynching incident and circulating on social media.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)