Pehlu Khan case probe officers in Jaipur on Monday for appeal talks

Rajasthan Police investigating officers (IOs), who have been blamed for botching up the prosecution in the 2017 Pehlu Khan case, have been called to Jaipur on Monday, additional advocate general-cum-government advocate Rajendra Yadav said.

After the court of additional district judge in Alwar acquitted six men, accused of lynching 55-year-old dairy farmer from Haryana’s Nuh district, on August 14, the state government decided to file an appeal against the decision in the Rajasthan high court.

“State government will file appeal against order of ADJ,” Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced on Twitter hours after the judgment.

“I received the file related to the case from the law department on Thursday and wrote to the director general of police (DGP) for the IOs to be sent to my office on Monday,” Yadav said on Sunday.

The state government will file the appeal after studying the file and speaking to the police officers who investigated the case.

Earlier, in her order, ADJ Sarita Swami pointed out several lapses by the then station house officer (SHO) of Behror police station, Ramesh Sinsinwar, and then circle officer of Behror, Parmal Singh.

It is unclear if the investigation officer of crime branch, Govind Dan Detha, who gave a clean chit to the six people named by Pehlu Khan in his statement to police, and indicted nine others, including three minors, will also be in AAG’s office on Monday.

“Because Thursday was the last working day of the week (Friday and Saturday being holidays on account of Janmashtami), I have not been able to go through the file. I have left it to the DGP to send the officers,” Yadav added.

Legal experts said when the state decides to appeal against a court order, the public prosecutor in the case writes to the district collector concerned, who, in turn, sends a recommendation to the law department. In the department, law officers, who are of the rank of district judges, weigh the merits of the case for an appeal before taking the final call.

The ADJ acquitted six accused – Vipin Yadav, Ravindra Yadav, Kalu Ram Yadav, Dayanand Yadav, Yogesh Khati, and Bhim Rathi – on August 14 giving them the benefit of doubt. They were charged with murder, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restrain, damage to property and theft.

Khan was attacked on the Delhi-Jaipur highway near Behror in Alwar district on April 1 in 2017 on the suspicion of cow smuggling when he was transporting cattle bought from a weekly market in Jaipur to his home in Nuh with his two sons. He died in hospital on two days later on April 3.