Rajasthan, September 14, 2021 (PPI-OT): Sabir Khan, a 16-year-old and a class 11 student in Rajasthan’s Alwar district was run over by Hindu cow vigilantes on Sunday morning. Khan, a resident of Sare Kalan village in Tijara tehsil of Alwar district, died after being hit by a car driven by members of Gauraksha Dal and Bajrang Dal, his family members have alleged.
South Asian Wire reported that the teenager’s family members accused the police of trying to suppress the matter, calling the incident a ‘road accident.’ Family members of the deceased have stated in the FIR that Sabir Khan along with his friends, would go running every morning and around 4-5 days ago, they had an argument with Bajrang Dal local leader Anil over the latter’s reckless driving.
“On that day, Anil had threatened my nephew and his companions that ‘after today if I see you running on this road, then I will run you down with this car and you won’t be do anything to me because I have relationships with Gauraksha Dal and Bajrangbal (sic)’,” reads the FIR. After running over Sabir with their car on Sunday morning, the accused also reminded Sabir’s friends of his prior threat, according to the FIR.
“Each day, several of our friends would go for running on that road. Some time back, we had an argument with Anil, a resident of a nearby village, when we asked him not to over speed since we run on that road. Anil had threatened us at that time. He works with the Bajrang Dal. On Sunday morning, after running over Sabir, he slowed down the car and told me, I have run over your brother, now you know me,” said Sabir’s friend 20-year-old Mohammed Alim, who was present at the time of the incident.
The FIR was lodged by Sabir’s uncle after the incident. On the basis of the complaint, the police have registered an FIR at the Chupanki police station under sections 302 (murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), naming seven accused – Anil Gurjar, Mintu, Himansu, Pushkar, Sonu, Rahul and Abu, all residents of Haryana.
Hari Ram Kumawat, deputy superintendent of police, Bhiwadi police circle, said that so far the police have arrested three people Sonu, Narendra, and Harkesh in the matter on the basis of the police investigation.
The cop said to Indian Express: “Preliminary investigation suggests that a vehicle in which cows were being transported was passing the area and it hit Sabir. The people in that vehicle were cow smugglers. There was another vehicle driven by locals which was following the cow smugglers to catch them. This vehicle too hit Sabir. An FIR has also been registered at the Tauru Sadar police station in Nuh district of Haryana against the cow smugglers and 15 cows were found in their vehicle. Sabir was hit by two vehicles – one being driven by the cow smugglers, other belonging to those chasing the smugglers.”
However, Sabir’s cousin Imran Khan and brother-in-law Shahrukh told Indian Express that the police of trying to suppress the matter. “The police want to completely change the direction of the case and suppress the issue. There is no role of any vehicle transporting cows. The accused threatened the kids before and then killed Sabir,” said Imran Khan.
Imran went on to say: “Sabir was studying in class 11 and wanted to join the Army. Each day, along with his friends he would go on a run and exercise early in the morning. Earlier as well, people from nearby village Bhogipur who are associated with the Gau Raksha Dal and Bajrang Dal had threatened the kids. On Sunday, they deliberately ran Sabir over with their vehicles despite the fact that he was standing at the side of the road. These people have created a terror here in the name of cow protection.”
According to Bhiwadi SP Ram Moorty Joshi, “it (the murder of Muslim boy) appears to be a case of road accident but still, we are carrying out the investigation and more will be clear after the probe.” “An FIR has been registered in Haryana related to cow smuggling and we have registered an FIR regarding the death of the kid. It is wrong to say that police are trying to suppress the matter,” he added.
Following the brutal murder, the villagers staged a protest with Sabir Khan’s body and blocked the road. Police rushed to the spot immediately. “Everyday self-styled gau rakshas race through the road on suspicion of chasing cattle smugglers due to which such incidents have become common. Police need to act tough on those who violate the law,” a local activist Sher Mohammad said.
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