‘No intention to kill’: Alwar court on 4 convicts in Rakbar Khan lynching case

A fifth accused, VHP member Nawal Kishore Sharma, whom the family named as the main suspect, was acquitted on account of “insufficient evidence.”

Four men held guilty for the death of Rakbar Khan, who was lynched after being intercepted by vigilantes while transporting cows in Rajasthan in 2018, were convicted for culpable homicide and not murder because they didn’t intend to kill the victim and therefore called the police, a local court’s verdict said on Friday.

Rakbar Khan, who was 28, was grievously assaulted in the early hours of July 21, 2018, when he and a friend were transporting two cows in Alwar (HT)

The 92-page order in Hindi also said that insufficient evidence was the reason for the acquittal of one accused, and blamed the police for not taking Khan to the hospital on time, prioritising taking the cows to a shed instead.

Khan, who was 28, was grievously assaulted in the early hours of July 21, 2018, when he and a friend were transporting two cows in Alwar and were attacked by a so-called cow protection gang. While his friend Aslam escaped, Khan was caught, beaten, and handed over to local police.

All four accused – Dharmendra Yadav, Paramjeet Sardar, Vijay Kumar and Naresh Kumar – were out on bail and taken into custody after the verdict on Thursday. They were convicted under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to wrongful restraint and culpable homicide, and acquitted for criminal conspiracy and murder.

A fifth accused, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member Nawal Kishore Sharma, whom the family named as the main suspect, was acquitted on account of “insufficient evidence.”

In his judgment made public on Friday, special judge Sunil Kumar Goyal said the court raised doubts on whether the four men assaulted Khan “with the intention to cause his murder” because they had informed police about the alleged cow smuggling through Nawal Kishore.

The court also found problems with Kishore’s inclusion in the charge sheet based on his “phone contact” with the convicts, when Khan did not mention him to the police as one of the people who assaulted him.

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It said: “According to the evidence available, Kishore was informed about the incident by the other accused, after which he informed the police and accompanied them to the crime scene. He waited till the cows were shifted to a shed, and Khan was taken to a hospital”.

“Nawal Kishore’s mobile contact with the other accused does not prove his cooperation in the assault on Rakbar,” the court said.

The judge also said that it was “proven beyond doubt” that the four convicts assaulted the deceased, “severe beating with sticks, rods, kicks, and punches, resulting in six broken ribs, fractures in his hands and legs, and a total of 13 injuries, which ultimately led to his death”.

The court was critical of the role of Rajasthan Police and noted that “personnel at Ramgarh police station prioritised taking the cows to a shelter rather than shifting an injured Khan to a hospital”.

“Based on the evidence presented, the police arrived at the scene at 1:30am, and brought Rakbar to the Ramgarh police station at 2:45am. However, assistant sub-inspector Mohan Singh, despite Rakbar’s critical condition, prioritised taking the cows to the cow shelter instead of immediately transporting the injured Rakbar to the hospital,” the verdict said.

Khan’s death was a stark reminder of the persistent problem of vigilantism in some parts of the country, especially connected to cow protection groups. While smuggling may indeed be a problem, violent action taken by private groups has no place in a rules-based order and the authorities need to take stern steps to crack down on vigilante groups and restore faith in law and order.

Khan’s family has said they will challenge the lower court’s verdict in the high court.

“It was a murder. We believe that Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) under which they are being punished is not correct. There should have been a harsher sentence. The leader of the mob, Nawal Kishore, has also been acquitted,” the victim’s brother Harun Khan said.