A day after dairy owner Rakbar Khan from Kolgaon village in Haryana’s Mewat district was lynched by a group of seven persons in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Friday night, his friend Aslam, who managed to escape the attack, named five persons in a statement to the Rajasthan police, who said three of them had been arrested.
Assistant Sub-Inspector of Ramgarh Mohan Singh came to Nuh to record Mr. Aslam’s statement.
Without provocation
According to Mr. Aslam, he and Rakbar were returning from Khanpur with the cattle when the attack took place at Ramgarh’s Lalawandi village.
Mr. Aslam told The Hindu that the assailants were armed with firearms and sticks and attacked them without provocation after their cows strayed into the fields along the road. He said that through the assault, the assailants egged on each other to attack the two men.
“‘Vijay, break his legs’; ‘Dharmender, hit him hard on the head’; ‘And Naresh, you break his hands’. This is how they were talking among themselves,” said Mr. Aslam, his voice still shaking. “They were seven people. I remember the names of five of them,” he said.
A daily wage labourer, Mr. Aslam said he had agreed to accompany Rakbar on his request to help transport the cows. The duo had decided to travel at night in view of the several incidents of lynching in Alwar by alleged cow vigilantes.
Walking the two cows and their calves on foot through a forest area in Ramgarh's Lalwandi village, the duo were halfway home when, according to Mr. Aslam, “the animals were startled by a motorcycle on the road and strayed into the fields”.
Surrounded in minutes
“Holding the ropes of the cows, Rakbar was trying to drive them back on the road and I was a few steps behind him when the men surrounded us and opened fire in the air. While two ran towards me, the others caught Rakbar,” said Mr. Aslam. He, however, managed to flee and hide in the fields.
“I heard Rakbar screaming, but could not muster courage to come out,” he said.
After the attack, he walked through the night having lost his way, and reached Kolgaon village at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“By the time I reached the village, the police had already informed Rakbar’s family about his death,” said Mr. Aslam.
The villagers and locals gathered at Rakbar's house alleged that the Muslims transporting cattle from Rajasthan were frequently robbed, beaten up and even lynched.
“I have been in dairy business for almost two decades now, but this was never the case earlier. It started two to three years ago and has become a routine now. In fact, it is the worst in Alwar. Even the policemen at the check-points seek a bribe for letting us go. The so-called cow vigilantes also waylay us to seek money and sometimes even take away our cattle,” said Rakbar’s uncle Mohammed Ilyas.
The family of the victim blocked the Gurugram-Alwar Highway for several hours on Saturday night seeking the arrest of the accused and compensation for his family.
The blockade was lifted around midnight following assurances from Rajasthan and Haryana officials of swift police action.
“We demanded that all accused be arrested and no mercy be shown to them. He was the sole bread earner of the family of nine. We also demanded ₹5 lakh compensation for the family,” said Rakbar's uncle Mohammad Umar.
Three held
The Rajasthan police arrested two of the accused — Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh — on Saturday. The third person, Naresh Singh, was held on Sunday.
All the three were produced before the Ramgarh Judicial Magistrate, who remanded them in police custody for five days.
Superintendent of Police Rajendra Singh, who was transferred from Ajmer to Alwar three days ago, visited Ramgarh on Sunday to monitor the probe. He said those found guilty would not be spared.
Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh reportedly provided clues to the police during interrogation about the identity of the other persons involved in the crime. Police were also investigating the accused’s links with right-wing organisations.
(With inputs from Mohammad Iqbal in Jaipur)
