‘Hope for Justice’: Pehlu Khan’s Family on Fresh Probe By Raj Govt

Rajasthan CM Gehlot set up a SIT and also decided to hire the services of a senior lawyer to guide the probe.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

(Photo: Ashok Gehlot/Facebook)

After a court in Alwar acquitted all six accused in the Pehlu Khan lynching case on Wednesday, 14 August, his shattered family has now pinned all hopes on a re-probe in the case ordered by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

“After the judgment, we were very disappointed but the Rajasthan government’s decision to get the case probed again has given us hope. Inshah Allah, we will now get justice”, said Pehlu Khan’s elder son, Irshad.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had on Friday, 16 August, ordered a fresh investigation into the 2017 Pehlu Khan lynching case and decided to follow it up with an appeal against the acquittal of all the six accused in the case by the Alwar Court.

The chief minister also set up a Special Investigation Team under the supervision of state’s additional director general of police (Crime) and decided to hire the services of a senior lawyer to guide the probe, besides preparing grounds for appeal in the case.

“I have invested 9 months of my earnings in pursuing the case in court. When I heard about the judgment, I was shattered. Two of my brothers stay at home and not earn because of the court case. Justice was denied because police diluted the case and produced no evidence”, said Khan’s younger son Mubarik on receiving news of the re-probe.

The chief minister took the decision in a high-level review meeting held for examining the shortcomings in the probe and the findings of the court, said an official statement.

The review meeting, chaired by the chief minister, was attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup, Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh, Principal Secretary (Law) Mahavir Prasad Sharma and Additional Director General of Police (Crime) B L Soni. The SIT, set up on the chief minister's order, will submit its report within 15 days, the statement added.

55-year-old Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Nuh district of Haryana lynched near Alwar while returning to his home town in Haryana after buying cattle from Rajasthan.

The Alwar court on Wednesday acquitted all six adult accused in the case, giving them the benefit of doubt. Three other juveniles allegedly involved in the case are still facing enquiry by a Juvenile Justice Board.

The government statement said the SIT will also identify errors and irregularities in the investigation and fix the responsibility for botched up investigation on individual officers.

The SIT will also gather important oral and documentary evidence, left out or ignored in earlier probe, it added.

DIG (Special Operation Group) Nitin Deep Ballagan will head the special probe team, which will also include SP (CID-CB) Sameer Kumar Singh and ASP (Vigilance) Sameer Dubey.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)