Alwar lynching: Inquiry finds cops guilty of ‘error of judgement’

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, July 23

A high-level departmental inquiry has found Ramgarh police guilty of “error of judgement”, and has suspended an assistant sub-inspector and transferred three constables to traffic lines, three days after a man was allegedly lynched on suspicion of having smuggled cows.

The suspended ASI has been identified as Mohan Singh. Rajasthan Police however denied reports that said that Alwar Police assaulted the victim, Akbar Khan alias Rakbar.

Briefing the press after the daylong inquiry concluded, Director General of Police (Law & Order) NRK Reddy claimed the policemen had their priorities wrong and their “miscalculation” cost the victim his life.

“The deceased was never taken to police station or beat. The delay to take him to a hospital was not intentional but a miscalculation. The cops could not prioritise their line of action, which lead to this prima facie lapse,” Reddy said.

However, according to police sources, the inquiry committee found a CCTV clip showing an empty truck followed by a police jeep, probably driving towards the police station at 3:47 am. A woman who claimed to be an eyewitness said she saw police beating and abusing a man in the vehicle.

Akbar Khan was declared dead on arrival 13 minutes later.

The team conducting the inquiry, comprising of Additional DGP (CID-Crime Branch) PK Singh, Inspector General of Police (Jaipur Range) Hemant Priyadarshi, are still investigating the allegations, Reddy said.

Reddy said senior officer of the police station or district had been informed of the incident until 4 am.

“So far we have found this team guilty of lack of coordination with seniors. However, if lapse is found on party
of any senior cop, we will take similar action,” he said.

Local MLA Gyandev Ahuja disputed the committee’s findings, insisting that the victim was beaten at a police station, which he claimed was where he died.

“We are against cow smuggling and have helped police in nabbing hundreds of smugglers since last few years but we never hit or killed anyone. Since the past year that police have adopted a policy of terming custodial brutalities ‘lynching by Gau Rakshaks’. We want a judicial probe in this matter,” Ahuja said.

Local resident Naval Kishore Sharma, the person who police named informer in the case, also insisted that the victim had died in police custody and claimed those who have been arrested so far were being framed. He claimed police called them to register a case for cow smuggling, instead arresting them for murder.

“I informed the police on basis of information given by Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh. I went with police and we found one man injured lying in the mud. Dharmendra and Paramjeet were there, as I told them (police). We helped police in washing him and even got clothes for him. Police placed him in the jeep and took him to the thana (police station). Dharmendra and Paramjeet took the cows to cow shelter and when we were called after two hours the man had died in police lock up. They caught hold of them both (policemen) and told them they had murdered him,” Kishore said.

Mohan Singh, the now suspended ASI, said he didn’t think Khan would die. 

“He seemed perfectly fine, so we decided to complete all spot formalities before taking him to a hospital. Yes, that was wrong judgement, a mistake that I can’t change. Hang me for it if you want but please don’t accuse me of torturing him in custody,” Singh said.

Holes in police story?

What has brought local police’s role in the incident under scanner is a statement by Dr Hasan Ali Khan, the person in charge at Ramgarh CHC. In addition to highlighting the delay in having brought the victim to the medical centre, Dr Khan has cited in his autopsy report broken ribs and punctured lungs as the reason behind Akbar’s collapse.

According to sources, Dr Khan, on being shown pictures of Akbar that ASI Mohan Singh’s team claimed they had clicked after having rescued him, insisted that the body brought to him looked very different—far more bruised. 

 “The pictures showed a man who was nowhere near death and whose body bore fewer marks and scars. The body brought (to the centre) had was bruised, with broken ribs and punctured lungs, which collapsed due to fluid retention,” Dr. Khan said.