A minor boy was allegedly killed after he was run over by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Sunday morning, The Indian Express reported on Monday.
Relatives of the victim, identified as Sabir Khan, have alleged that he was assaulted by local cow vigilantes who had threatened to run him over a few days ago.
The First Information Report said the incident took place when Khan and his friends had gone for a run on Sunday morning near Nehar Khedi Road in Alwar.
The police have booked seven people, including the cow vigilante identified by Khan’s family, under charges of murder and other offences. The police said their preliminary investigation suggested that Khan’s death was a road accident.
The police said that Khan was hit by two vehicles, one of which belonged to alleged cow smugglers, and the other reportedly belonged to cow vigilantes, who were chasing the smugglers.
However, Khan’s family have accused the police of trying to suppress the matter.
“The police want to completely change the direction of the case...There is no role of any vehicle transporting cows,” Imran, a cousin of Khan told The Indian Express. “The accused threatened the kids earlier and then killed Sabir.”
Khan’s friend Mohammed Alim, who witnessed the incident, said that they used to go for a run on the road every morning. A few days ago, they had an argument with Anil, a resident of a nearby village.
The boys had asked Anil not to drive his car fast when they were on their daily run.
“Anil had threatened us at that time...He works with the [Hindutva group] Bajrang Dal,” Alim told The Indian Express. “On Sunday morning, after running over Sabir, he slowed down the car and told me, I have run over your brother, now you know me.”
He claimed that after Anil hit Khan with his car, the minor was run over by another vehicle that was driven by one of the accused’s associates.
The complaint filed by Khan’s family also mentioned the altercation with Anil. In his complaint, Khan’s uncle alleged that Anil had threatened to run over the teenager during the argument.
The accused had also said that Khan would not be able to do anything as Anil had links with the Bajrang Dal and Gauraksha Dal (cow vigilante group), the FIR said.
The police have booked Anil and six others – Mintu, Himansu, Pushkar, Soun, Rahul and Abu – on charges of murder, unlawful assembly and criminal intimidation.
Deputy Superintendent of Police of Bhiwadi circle Hari Ram Kumawat told The Indian Express that Khan was hit by a vehicle that was transporting cows.
“The people in that vehicle were cow smugglers,” Kumawat said, according to the newspaper. “There was another vehicle driven by locals which was following the cow smugglers to catch them. This vehicle too hit Sabir.”
He added that three people – Sonu, Narendra and Harkesh – have been arrested so far. However, none of these names are among those in the FIR, reported The Indian Express.
Kumawat also said that a separate FIR had been registered at the Tauru Sadar police station in Nuh district of Haryana against the alleged cow smugglers and that 15 cows were found in their vehicle.
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