Alwar ‘cow smuggler’ death: Bullet hit his neck

Police said around 2 am on December 7, Talim and some others were smuggling cows in a truck via Alwar when they were asked to stop.(Photo for representation purpose)

THE AUTOPSY of Talim (23), who was killed in an alleged encounter with police, has prima facie found that a possible bullet injury in his neck caused his death.

Police said around 2 am on December 7, Talim and some others were smuggling cows in a truck via Alwar when they were asked to stop. The men in the truck allegedly opened fire at the police, and Talim was killed in retaliatory firing, according to the police.

“We found a metallic foreign body in his neck, which damaged larynx and trachea, and lodged itself at the cervical bone towards the back of his neck. Prima facie, it can be said that the cause of death was the neck injury,” medical jurist Dr K K Meena told The Indian Express. “We have sent the metallic object to Ballistics to confirm if it was a bullet.”

Rajasthan DGP O P Galhotra said it was “an encounter”. The case is being probed by CID CB.

Talim’s family claims he was innocent. “He was a truck driver who drove between Delhi and Kolkata. The night before he was killed, he was at home,” his cousin Hakam said. “His father Shareef Khan is still shocked and his mother hasn’t stopped crying. Our only hope is the court now.”

Alwar Meo Panchayat chief Sher Mohammad said Talim was innocent. “He was innocent and maybe he was lured by criminals. And when there is an encounter, we think of worse crimes and gangsters but we never hear a person transporting cows being killed in an encounter. By killing him, the police passed the judgement that he was a cow smuggler.”