india

Updated: Aug 14, 2019 23:38 IST

Jaipur: The Alwar court’s order acquitting the six people accused of lynching dairy farmer Pehlu Khan two years ago has came as a shock for his family.

“We have lost faith in law. For the past two and a half years, we were waiting for justice. We thought that justice would be delivered and it will give peace to my father’s soul but instead our hopes are shattered,” said Irshad Khan, eldest son of Pehlu Khan.

He said that he was puzzled by the judgment. “We had all the necessary evidence to prove that my father was beaten to death by a mob. The police had also collected the necessary evidence including the postmortem report,” said the 27-year-old.

No one from the family was present in the Alwar court when the order came, said their lawyer Kasim Khan. “We were sure that there will be conviction,” he added.

The lawyer said the family will move an appeal in the high court. “We will study the judgment when we get a certified copy of the order, most likely on August 16,” he added.

Irshad said appealing in a higher court was the only option left with the family.

On May 24 this year, the police also filed the charge sheet in another case in which Pehlu Khan and his two sons — Irshad, then 25, and Arif, then 22 — were charged with cattle smuggling under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995, on April 1, 2017.

“On one hand, people who killed my father will roam free and on the other, my family will suffer more trauma because of trial in case against us,” Irshad said.

“I don’t have words to explain what we are going through,” he added.