Rattled by the reports about the delayed response of police in dealing with the alleged lynching of Haryana resident Rakbar Khan in Alwar district , the Rajasthan police on Monday constituted a high-level team of four senior officers to probe into the case. The team will look into the allegations of “deliberate delay” in taking the victim to a hospital.
The team comprises Special Director General of Police (Law & Order) N.R.K. Reedy, Additional DGP (CID-Crime Branch) P.K. Singh, Inspector-General of Police (Jaipur Range) Hemant Priyadarshi and State Nodal Officer (Cow Vigilance) Mahendra Singh Chaudhary.
DGP O.P. Galhotra said the team would look into the alleged delayed response and other connected issues related to Rakbar's murder. “The team of senior police officers is already on the way to Alwar. Prompt and strict action will be taken against the guilty based on the team's report,” he said.
Mr. Galhotra said it would also be investigated whether Rakbar, 31, was thrashed by the policemen when he was in their custody on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Rakbar was declared dead on arrival at the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Ramgarh.
The team's appointment was in addition to the overall probe being shifted out of Alwar and handed over to Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime & Vigilance), Jaipur Range, Vandana Bhati. The decision was taken after questions were raised over the conduct of the local police.
Rakbar and his friend Aslam, belonging to Kolgaon village in Haryana's Nuh district, were attacked by by a group of people on suspicion that he was smuggling cows in the forest area of Ramgarh's Lalawandi village on Friday night. While Aslam managed to escape, Rakbar sustained severe injuries and was declared dead when the policemen took him to the Ramgarh CHC.
Since Rakbar was in the custody of police for about three hours, the citizens and activists in Alwar have been asking why there was a delay in taking the critically injured man to the hospital.
