The sons of a man who was beaten to death by a mob two years ago have now been charged with “cow smuggling” by Indian police, while the suspects accused of killing their father reportedly remain free on bail.

Pehlu Khan was killed by a group of cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar in 2017, after he and his sons were attacked while transporting cattle they’d actually bought at a fair. More than two years after the shocking incident, local authorities have booked Khan’s sons, Irshaad (25) and Aareef (22), for cow smuggling and slaughter. According to some reports, the murder victim Khan was also posthumously accused of being a cow smuggler.

“We lost our father in the attack by cow vigilantes and now we have been charged as cow smugglers,” Khan’s eldest son Irshaad told The Indian Express. “We hoped for justice after the government change but that didn’t happen.”

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Amid anger over the charges, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has distanced himself from any role in the investigation, claiming that it had been carried out by a previous government.

“A fresh investigation will be ordered if anything wrong is revealed,” Gehlot told Indian media.

The chief minister later claimed that the case was separate from the one related to the 2017 lynching, but that the government “will see if the investigation was done with predetermined intentions.”

Meanwhile, the individuals suspected of beating Khan to death are reportedly free on bail.

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