"The decision of the court will have to be respected. The court has released them on the basis of lack of evidence. We will wait for a copy of the order. After going through it, we will challenge it in a higher court," said Singh
Alwar lynching victim Pehlu Khan's mother Ankuri Beegam (left) at a dharna demanding justice for her son, in New Delhi. Pic/PTI
Jaipur (Rajasthan): The Rajasthan government has decided to appeal against the verdict of in which a court on Wednesday acquitted all six men accused of lynching Pehlu Khan to death in 2017. The accused were let off on the benefit of the doubt. "The state government has decided to appeal against the judgment in 2017 Pehlu Khan lynching case (Alwar)," said Rajasthan Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Rajeeva Swarup.
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"All six persons have been acquitted by the court. This is a historic decision, which will serve as a slap to the persons who wanted to divide Hindus and Muslims and tried to build a narrative using this in the Parliament. This is an unbiased decision by the court," Hukam Chand Sharma, the advocate of the accused, told reporters in Alwar after the verdict.
On April 1 in 2017, Khan, a 55-year-old dairy farmer from Haryana's Nuh, was beaten up by self-styled cow vigilantes near Behror in Rajasthan on the Delhi-Alwar highway He succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital two days later. An amateur video that went viral showed Khan being beaten up by a mob, thrown to the ground and kicked.
Two FIRs were filed in the case -- one against the attackers and the other accusing Khan and his sons with allegedly transporting cattle without requisite permissions. Three, of the nine people accused of his murder, were underage.
"The three juveniles are still under trial in the case. They are being tried separately in the juvenile court. Their case has nothing to do with this," Sharma added. Yogendra Singh, the counsel for Pehlu Khan case, said that they were waiting for the copy of the order and will have to see it before challenging it in the higher court.
"The decision of the court will have to be respected. The court has released them on the basis of lack of evidence. We will wait for a copy of the order. After going through it, we will challenge it in a higher court," said Singh.
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