Umar Khan's family has alleged he was killed by gau rakshaks in Rajasthan's Alwar.
Highlights
- 32-year-old Umar Khan found dead on Friday on train tracks
- Family says he and two relatives were attacked by cow vigilantes
- They were bringing home cows that they had bought
The family of a man, whose body was found on rail tracks in Rajasthan's Alwar -- where
a man had been beaten to death earlier this year by cow vigilantes -- has claimed that he, too had been killed by another such group.
The body of Umar Khan, 32, was found on November 10, around 12 km from the Ramgarh Police station. It is not yet known how de died. His body had been kept in the mortuary since there was no identification. Today, his family - residents of a village in Bharatpur called Ghaatmeeka - arrived.
According to the police, they said Umar Khan and two of his relatives had been attacked by cow vigilantes while they were bringing home cows they had bought.
One of them, 42-year-old Tahir Khan, has been admitted in a hospital in Jirka Ferozpur in Haryana. He has sustained gunshot wounds on his shoulder. Another man, 28-year-old Javed Khan is missing.
The police said they had recovered an abandoned pick-up truck earlier on November 10. It was carrying six cows, one of which had died. The ones alive had their feet and mouth tied. The tyres of the truck had been removed, said Rahul Prakash, a senior police officer from Alwar.
The police had seized the vehicle and registered a case under the Rajasthan Bovine Act, which prohibits cattle slaughter and regulates migration and export of the animals.
The police, however, said they were yet to establish any connection between the dead man and the cows. No case has been filed yet.
The villagers said the pick-up belonged to Umar Khan, Javed and Tahir. Alleging a cover-up by the police, they reached the district headquarters of Alwar today and demanded a fair inquiry into the matter.
"Umar was killed by Gau Rakshaks ... we demand an inquiry, the Meos (a community living in and around Mewat) are farmers and cattle rearers. We are being harassed," said Sher Mohammad, a leader of the Meo panchayat.
Alwar had made headlines in April after a dairy owner, Pehlu Khan,
was beaten to death on suspicion of cattle smuggling. The video footage of the 55-year-old being hauled by the neck, thrown to the ground and kicked had sparked nationwide outrage. The Rajasthan police later
gave a clean chit to the six men he named in dying declaration as his attackers, saying there was no evidence against them.