Thrashed him, didn’t intend to kill: Alwar court on 4 convicts in Rakbar Khan case

The special judge in his verdict delivered on Thursday convicted the four men for wrongful restraint and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but acquitted them of murder and criminal conspiracy

JODHPUR: Special judge Sunil Kumar, who sentenced four men to seven years imprisonment for killing Rakbar Khan on the suspicion that he was a cow smuggler in 2018 in Rajasthan’s Ramgarh, said in his verdict that the accused beat the victim with “sticks, rods, kicks and punches” but did not intend to kill him because they called the police and handed the injured man over to them.

Rakbar Khan. 28, was killed by a group of cow vigilantes who assumed that he was a cow smuggler (File Photo)

Judge Goyal, in his judgement delivered on Thursday, convicted the four men under sections of wrongful restraint and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but acquitted them of the charges of criminal conspiracy and murder. The court, however, was critical of the role of the police and said that personnel at Rajasthan’s Ramgarh police station prioritized taking cows to a shelter, instead of taking the injured Rakbar to a hospital.

Khan’s family expressed disappointment at the order on Thursday and said that they intended to appeal against it in the Rajasthan high court. “It was murder. We believe that section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) under which they were punished is not correct. There should have been a harsher sentence. The leader of the mob, Nawal Kishore has also been acquitted” Rakbar’s brother Harun Khan said soon after the special judge read out the operative portion of the judgment.

A detailed copy of the verdict was made available on Friday.

In his verdict, Goyal concluded that it was “proven beyond doubt” that the four men, Dharmendra Yadav, Paramjeet Sardar, Vijay Kumar and Naresh Kumar, accosted Rakbar Khan on the intervening night of July 20 and 21, 2018 when he was transporting two cows, because they thought he was a cow smuggler, and subjected him to a “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, however, raised doubts on the prosecution story that the four men assaulted Rakbar “with the intention to cause his murder”, pointing out that they informed the police through Naval Kishore, and then handed him over to the police.

Rakbar Khan’s family has maintained for five years that Naval Kishore was the prime accused and led the mob, even petitioning the court to include his name in the FIR, a case that went up to the Rajasthan high court and was only disposed of when Kishore’s name was included in the charge sheet. Kishore is a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and was the chief of the Ramgarh cow protection cell.

Goyal’s judgment said that Naval Kishore’s inclusion in the charge sheet was based on his “phone contact” with the other accused. “However, the deceased Rakbar did not mention Nawal Kishore as one of the persons who assaulted him in the information provided to the police,” the court said. It noted that other evidence demonstrated that Kishore was informed about the incident by the other accused, that he accompanied the police to the scene of the crime where he remained until the cows were placed in a cow shed and Rakbar Khan was taken to a hospital.

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

The court also came down heavily on the police, and asked the DGP to take appropriate action against errant officials because they prioritized taking the cows to the shelter instead of taking Rakbar to 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, prioritized taking the cows to the cow shelter instead of immediately transporting the injured Rakbar to the hospital,” the court said.