A 28-year-old man was beaten to death in Alwar, Rajasthan on Friday night by villagers on suspicion of cow smuggling. Two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. 

The victim has been identified as Akbar Khan also known as Rakbar. He was a native of Haryana. As per NDTV reports, the two men were transporting cows on foot and the villagers in Ramgarh suspected them to be cow smugglers. Both of them were thrashed by a group of people, while Akbar died on the spot, the other managed to escape.

“Akbar Khan, a resident of Kolgaon in Haryana, and another man were taking two cows to their village through a forest area near Lalawandi village in Alwar last night when a group of people severely thrashed Khan,” Ramgarh police station officer Subhash Sharma told NDTV. Akbar’s father Suleiman wants justice for his son. He wants the culprits to be arrested soon.

Officials’ take

As per News18 reports, a case has been registered against two unidentified people under IPC Section 302. “It is not clear if they were cow smugglers. The body has been sent for postmortem, We are trying to identify the culprits and arrests will be made soon,” said senior police officer Anil Beniwal to NDTV.

“Strictest possible action”

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident and tweeted: “Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators.”

The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators.

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) July 21, 2018

Lashing out on the Central government, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that four years of Modi rule is equal to Lynch Raj.

Cow in India has a Fundamental Right to Life under Art 21 & a Muslim can be killed for they have no Fundamental right to LIFE
Four years of Modi rule – LYNCH RAJ https://t.co/IZuQSPY56F

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 21, 2018

No concrete laws to deal with mob violence

This incident has happened just four days after the Supreme Court (SC) had asked the Central government to consider framing new laws to deal with mob violence and provide deterrent punishment to offenders. Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra termed the incidents of mob lynching as “horrendous acts of mobocracy” and said the incidence has to be curbed with iron hands.

After the apex court’s orders, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said there was no real need for a new law against cow vigilantism, as reported by NDTV. 

Last year, when Pehlu Khan was beaten to death over suspicion of cow smuggling in Alwar, the Home Minister had said, “The cow protectors have done a good job by protecting cows from smuggling. But they have violated the law by beating people brutally,” he said to ANI.

Brief about other such incidents

Pehlu Khan, 55, was beaten to death by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar while he was transporting cattle on April 1, 2017.

His eldest son Irshad is the only breadwinner in the family of 11. The family-owned dairy farming business shut down after Khan’s death. Irshad feeds his family by working as a labourer in his village in Nuh district of Haryana. On the other hand, he is also seeking justice for his father.

Cow vigilante groups have targeted people transporting cattle. Umar Khan, 35, was found dead near railway tracks in the district in November 2017. His family members have alleged that he was killed by cow vigilantes, as reported by News18

Also Read: Alwar Lynching: Police Charges Pehlu Khan And Other Victims For Cow Smuggling

Also published on Medium.