An independent fact-finding investigation into the lynching of Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, earlier this year by cow vigilantes has exposed how police tried to "weaken" the investigation by delaying filing of the FIR and invoking IPC sections of crimes with lesser punishment.
The investigation termed the police action as "monumental inefficiency" or a "deliberate attempt to weaken the cases against the accused gaurakshaks". In April, Khan, a dairy farmer from Jaisinghpur village in Haryana, was lynched by cow vigilantes in Behror of Alwar district in Rajasthan. He was returning home after purchasing two cows and two calves from a Jaipur cattle fair.
The murder caught national attention and Khan became the face of protests against the spate of lynchings across the country in the name of gauraksha or cow protection. The independent investigation also revealed that the accused named in Khan's "dying declaration" were not arrested and police failed to defend the arrests they made in court, as five of the seven got out on bail.
In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked State Governments to act against gaurakshaks indulging in violence. The investigation report states that it has found that "police across the States are openly flouting the Prime Minister's instructions, especially in the States that are ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), be it Haryana, Gujarat, Jharkhand or Rajasthan."
The report said that FIR was filed nine-and-half-hours after the incident, though the scene of the crime is only two km from the police station.
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