Rakbar’s wife (in red dupatta) along with other family members

ALWAR/MEWAT: In a twist in the murder of Mewat resident Rakbar Khan in Rajasthan ’s Alwar district, cow vigilantes have alleged that the victim died in police custody and not because of mob violence as claimed by the authorities. However, cops have denied the allegation.

Alwar police were tipped off at 12.41am on Saturday by Naval Kishore Sharma, a self-proclaimed ‘gau rakshak’ who is associated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

A team from Ramgarh police station arrived at the farm next to Lalawandi-Alawada road. “We searched using torches and could reach Rakbar only after we heard his moans. We found him near a makeshift road that cuts through the farm, completely covered in mud. We couldn’t even see his face,” a policeman who was part of the search team told TOI.

However, Sharma said Rakbar might have been roughed up by cow vigilantes, “but not brutally”. He alleged that Rakbar was brought from Lalawandi to Ramgarh police station before being taken to the hospital.

He added that a police constable kept kicking and abusing him all through the journey. Sharma claimed that residents of Lalawandi were witness to cops thrashing Rakbar while he was cleaning himself.

Sharma said that after tipping off the cops at 12.41, he accompanied them as ASI Mohan Singh told him to come to the police station because of shortage of staff. “I sat in the police vehicle and showed them the spot,” Sharma said, adding that the mob fled after it spotted the police vehicle.

Sharma had received a call about Rakbar from Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh, two of the three arrested in the case. Two minutes after receiving their call he dialled the police.

Sharma claimed that when he reached the spot around 1 pm, Rakbar was limping a bit, but he could talk properly. “He complained of pain in one of his legs and it appeared as if he had difficulty getting into the jeep,” he said, adding that Yadav, who was arrested from the spot, even brought a shirt for Rakbar.

The VHP activist claimed that after returning to Ramgarh police station from Lalawandi, he left with some constables to take cows to the gaushala. He claimed he saw Rakbar get down from the police jeep and walk to the police station.

“When I returned, they told me that Rakbar was dead. The two youths they have arrested had actually taken cows to the gaushala, but police framed them,” he claimed.

Another ‘gau rakshak’ said on condition of anonymity: “What did the cops do with Rakbar for three hours? ‘Gau rakshaks’ didn’t kill him, he died in police custody.” The allegation was echoed by Mamman Khan, a local politician, at Rakbar’s Kol village in Mewat district .

On Sunday, police were deployed at Kol village, which was crowded by mourners and mediapersons. The family has been promised compensation of Rs 8 lakh so far, from various quarters.

But allegations that Rakbar was killed in police custody have left the villagers angry and hurt.

