Alwar lynching: Pehlu Khan's sons, key witnesses shot at on way to court

Four key witnesses of the Pehlu Khan lynching case, including two of his sons, were shot at on Saturday while they were on their way to a court in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. The incident took place when Pehlu Khan’s sons Irshad and Arif, witnesses Azmat and Rafiq along with their lawyer Asad Hayat were travelling from Nuh in Haryana to Behror in Alwar district to appear before a local court.

“When we crossed Neemrana and had just passed Maharaja Hotel on the highway, a black Scorpio without a number plate signalled us to stop,” Hayat said. When we didn’t stop, the lawyer said, “the vehicle then overtook our car and they fired at us.”

Also Read | At UNGA, Sushma Swaraj's seven-minute 'surgical strike' against Pakistan

After the attack, they took an isolated way through some villages to reach Alwar and filed a police complaint with the superintendent of police (SP) Rajendra Singh.

On April 1, 2017, Pehlu Khan was lynched by cow vigilantes on suspicion of cow smuggling for slaughter. Khan sustained serious injuries and later died in a hospital during the treatment.

Khan’s sons and their lawyer appealed to SP to move the hearing from Behror to some other court in Alwar.  “How can we depose in such circumstances? The case should be transferred from Behror to Alwar,” the lawyer said.

Also Read | Vivek Tiwari Murder: Is UP Police trying to save constable who killed Apple executive?

SP Singh said that he had ordered deputy superintendent of police (DSP) to investigate the matter, following which an action will be taken. “We have directed the deputy superintendent of the area to examine the facts and evidence, after which we will take further action,” Singh said.