Jaipur, October 30: The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday ordered to dismiss the FIR and charge-sheet against Pehlu Khan, his two sons and the driver of the vehicle. The cow smuggling case against the Muslim dairy farmer was quashed a single bench of Justice Pankaj Bhandari under the Rajasthan Bovine Animals Protection Act. Bhandari said that there was no evidence which showed Khan was transporting cows for slaughtering. Pehlu Khan Lynching Case: After Six Accused Acquitted, Ashok Gehlot Says ‘Committed to Ensuring Justice, Will Appeal Against Alwar Court Order’.

Pehlu Khan, a native of Nuh village in Haryana, was lynched on April 1, 2017. He was dragged out of the vehicle and assaulted by alleged cow vigilantes in Alwar on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway when he was transporting cattle from a fair to his village. According to reports, he was beaten with rods and sticks which resulted in his death.His two sons were also thrashed brutally by a group of gau rakshaks. Chargesheet against khan and his two sons was reportedly prepared on December 30, 2019. Pehlu Khan Lynching Case: Rajasthan Government to Appeal Against Judgment of Alwar Court.

In August, the Alwar Court acquitted all six accused in Pehlu Khan lynching case based on mobile phone records and statements of the caretaker of a cow shelter. The remaining three accused are minors and are being tried in a juvenile court. However, the Rajasthan government filed an appeal in the High Court challenging the acquittal of six accused by the lower court. According to Additional Advocate General Major RP Singh, the state government had filed an appeal in the matter in the Rajasthan High Court on October 14.

A special investigation team (SIT), which was set up to probe and identify lapses and irregularities in the police investigation in the lynching case, had in September submitted its report to the Rajasthan government. The SIT was formed to probe the case afresh after a Rajasthan court on August 14 acquitted the six accused.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 30, 2019 06:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).