A criminal case has been filed against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday for her tweet on the Rajasthan court verdict in the Pehlu Khan lynching case, PTI reported. A Muzaffarpur court in Bihar will hear the plea, which alleged that Vadra’s remarks were in contempt of court and attempted to spread communal hatred, on August 26.
Earlier in the day, Vadra had called the verdict shocking as it had acquitted six accused in the case. She had also praised the Rajasthan government for enacting a law against mob lynching. “I hope that a good example of it will be set by facilitating justice in the Pehlu Khan case,” she had tweeted. “There should be no place for inhumanity in our country and murder by a mob is a heinous crime.”
The complaint against Vadra was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari by local lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha under sections 153 [wanton vilification], 504 [intentional insult leading to crime] and 506 [criminal intimidation] of the Indian Penal Code. “The acquittal was done by the court due to lack of search, however, Vadra today tweeted against the verdict and this could generate religious frenzy and it also a contempt of court,” ANI quoted the lawyer, who filed the case, as saying.
On Wednesday, the Rajasthan court had acquitted six accused in the Pehlu Khan lynching case, giving them the benefit of doubt. Three other accused, who were minors at the time of the crime, are being tried separately at a juvenile court. The Rajasthan government has said it will appeal against the judgement. The state is ruled by a Congress-led government.
Also read: The Daily Fix: Acquittals in Pehlu Khan lynching case make it clear that a law alone is not enough
In April 2017, Khan was killed after being attacked by cow vigilantes near Behror on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway. The mob of cow vigilantes waylaid Khan and his son, and accused them of smuggling cattle even though he produced papers to prove that the consignment was legal. Khan died at a private hospital two days later.
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