Pehlu Khan son asks: If men in video didn’t kill my father, who did?

Alwar lynching survivor Azmat Khan and victim Pehlu Khan’s son at Jantar Mantar. (Source: Express Photo/Abhinav Saha)

Days after Rajasthan Police gave a clean chit to six accused in the case pertaining to the lynching of dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, his family has reached Delhi, demanding “intervention of the Supreme Court and transfer of the case outside Rajasthan”. His son Irshad has also alleged that he was never called to the police station to identify the accused. On April 1 this year, Khan and his two sons — Irshad and Arif — were attacked by cow vigilantes in Behror in Alwar while they were returning to their home in Nuh, Haryana. While the 55-year-old father of eight died, the sons were seriously injured.

At a press meet at Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s residence on Friday afternoon, Irshad alleged, “I am an eyewitness, but I was never called by Rajasthan Police to identify the accused. Now, of the 13 accused, six have been given a clean chit and five are out on bail. If the men in the video didn’t kill my father, who did?” Khan’s dying declaration mentioned names of Om Yadav, Hukum Chand Yadav, Sudhir Yadav, Jagmal Yadav, Naveen Sharma and Rahul Saini — all have been given a clean chit. Saying he felt “helpless and betrayed”, 24-year-old Irshad also alleged, “We are being threatened by those out on bail”.

Read | Cleared by Rajasthan police, ‘absconding’ accused in Pehlu Khan case back home

The family appealed for an urgent transfer of the case outside Rajasthan. Irshad said, “We only have faith in the Supreme Court… I will fight this case for as long as I am alive but I can’t do that if I fear for my life in Rajasthan.”

Singh criticised the Centre and said, “There is an atmosphere of fear and terror in the country… Congress will fight for all those who are victims of lynching, whether they are Hindus or Muslims.” Present at the press meet were Pehlu’s wife Jebuna, his eight-year-old son Insad, his uncle Hussain Khan, and cousins Hakamaddin and Jamil Ahmed.

“The family is undergoing a lot of financial problems… they have completely stopped dairy farming. On top of it, the accused are not being booked. It’s disheartening for the family and the village,” Ahmed said. In one corner, Insad sat on his mother’s lap, as she recounted her last conversation with her husband. “I told him not to go but he insisted that Ramzan is around and milk will be needed. I told him to get a buffalo instead of a cow, but he insisted on a cow,” she said.