Alwar killing: Govt denies cow vigilante murder

 The government on Thursday refuted the Opposition’s charges about the murder of a man by a cow vigilante group, saying no such incident, “as reported by the media”, has taken place.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukthar Abbas Naqvi’s remarks came as the Opposition raised the murder of Pehku Khan (55) and beating up of four others, including his two sons, by a group of cow vigilantes who targeted their cattle truck on a highway in Alwar in Rajasthan on Monday.

“We don’t support anarchy or goondaism,” the minister said, adding no wrong information should be spread on “such a sensitive issue”.

Congress MP Madhusudan Mistry — supported by MPs from across the Opposition and opposed by slogan-shouting BJP MPs — raised the issue during the Zero Hour and said there was constitutional breakdown in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, where anarchy is spreading.

“The cow vigilantes are roaming around, stopping trucks, and without any fear acting as extra-constitutional authorities,” he said.

Mistry said that the vigilantes who stopped the vehicle had let the driver go after identifying him as a Hindu; the others were then attacked.

“Khan was a dairy farmer and he was ferrying the cattle that he had bought when he was attacked. Organised cow vigilante gangs are operating in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat,” he said.

Naqvi’s remarks prompted Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad to say that the minister was “so ill-informed and insensitive” about the incident even as international media organisations, such as The New York Times, were reporting it.

Opposition MPs from the Samajwadi Party, BSP, CPM and JD(U) joined the Congress in the protest.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said that as there are two conflicting versions about the incident, “the Chair has to be convinced whether the incident took place. I am asking the minister of state for parliamentary affairs to convey to the home minister to enquire, get a report and inform the Chair,” he said.

When Congress’ Digvijay Singh asked the Chair to fix a deadline for the report, Kurien said the government knows the seriousness of the subject.

‘Internal injuries led to man’s death’

Severe internal injuries in the stomach and chest led to the death of 55-year-old Pehlu Khan, who was thrashed by a mob over alleged cow smuggling, post-mortem findings have shown, PTI reports from Jaipur. Chairman of the medical board constituted to conduct post-mortem, Dr Pushpendra Kumar Jain, said that severe internal injuries in stomach and chest had led to Khan’s death, adding that the deceased’s viscera sample had been taken as a final report would be submitted later. “We have taken the viscera and a final report will be presented later,” Jain said.