Member of Meo community gathered outside the hospital in Alwar

ALWAR/JAIPUR: A 35-year-old man, who was transporting cows from Alwar to Bharatpur in Rajasthan , was shot dead while his fellow passenger critically injured after he was allegedly beaten up by self-styled gau rakshaks ( cow vigilantes ) in Alwar’s Govdingarh area.Ummar Khan's bullet-ridden body was found on railway tracks on Friday evening. His body was kept at the mortuary of a government hospital. The victim's relatives on Sunday morning identified Khan, a resident of Bharatpur’s Ghatmika village where he worked as a dairy farmer.Tahir, an aide of Khan, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in neighboring Haryana after suspected cow vigilantes trashed him.Several members of the Meo Muslim community gathered outside the district hospital in Alwar and demanded action against the cow vigilante groups. Ummar Khan’s relatives filed a complaint against the assailants and alleged that Khan was shot dead by gau rakshkas.“The deceased and two others were transporting cows inside a pickup truck. As soon as they entered into the limits of Govindgarh, a mob of about 7 people waylaid their vehicle and began harassing them. They were calling themselves gau rakshaks and fired at Ummar Khan,” said Iliyas, uncle of the deceased.The police, however, said there were three persons in the pickup truck which was driven by one Jawed Khan who managed to flee.Circle officer (Alwar south) Anil Beniwal said the police found an abandoned pickup truck near Govindgarh at 6.30am on Friday. When the police searched the vehicle, they found five cows including one dead. The police had filed a case under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (prohibition of slaughter and regulation of temporary migration or export) act.“A few hours after the vehicle was found, information was received about a body being found on railway tracks. Since we could not identify the deceased, his body was kept at the mortuary of Rajiv Gandhi Hospital ,” Beniwal told TOI.In a similar case earlier in April this year, Pehlu Khan, a 51-year-old dairy farmer from Haryana was also beaten to death in Alwar’s Behror area which sparked nationwide outrage against the cow vigilantes.