Victim of mob lynching Pehlu Khan not named in chargesheet, says Ashok Gehlot

Gehlot said, "Name of Late #PehluKhan is not there in the chargesheet submitted by #Rajasthan Police in December 2018."

"This is a separate case which was registered and investigated under previous government in 2017-18 against Mr Arif, Mr Irshad and Mr Khan Mohd (Transporter), since accused name in the chargesheet were not present at the time of the submission in December 2018, the District court accepted the Challan on 24thmay 2018. However, our government will see if investigation was done with predetermined intentions." said the Chief Minister, who belongs to the Congress.

What is the controversy?

Months after the Congress government came to power in the state, the Rajasthan police have chargesheeted dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, who was beaten to death by gau rakshaks in Rajasthan's Alwar two years ago, over an alleged cow smuggling, media reports said.

The chargesheet also reportedly names Khan's sons under section 5, 8 and 9 of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995. The owner of the truck, which was used to carry the cattles, has also been named in the chargesheet.

Earlier the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state had filed a similar chargesheet naming Khan's two associates- Azmat and Rafique- who were also attacked by the mob.

In Sept 2017, the Rajasthan police gave a clean chit to all six accused cow vigilantes in connection with the murder of Khan.

Opposition reacts:

Reacting to the Rajasthan police's recent chargesheet, Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, a former Congress spokesperson, tweeted, " Pehlu Khan, the unfortunate victim of mob lynching, has been charge sheeted by the Rajasthan government.. The choice of silence and outrage levels of selective liberals is fascinating. Bye. "

AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, have urged the Muslims of Rajasthan to stop supporting the Congress. He tweeted, "It's double face of the @INCIndia . I urge the Muslims of Rajasthan to stop supporting Congress which has always betrayed them. "