Pehlu Khan lynching case: Witnesses, including sons, fired at while going to depose

Witnesses in Pehlu Khan’s lynching case, including his sons, were allegedly fired upon by unknown men at NH-8 in Alwar Saturday morning while they were going to Behror to depose Khan’s lynching. Lawyer Asad Hayat, who was in the car, told The Indian Express, “I was in the car with witnesses Azmat and Rafiq and Pehlu’s sons Irshad and Arif, along with driver Amjad. We were going to Behror to depose Pehlu’s lynching but when we crossed Neemrana, a black Scorpio without a number plate tried to overtake us and make us stop.”

Irshad, one of the son’s of Khan said, “The vehicle came near and the men inside waved their hands, asking us to stop. We might have even stopped, but we didn’t as their vehicle did not have a number plate. Then their vehicle came nearer and the men started hurling abuses at us, telling us to stop at once. Then they overtook us and fired upon us.”

Hyatt said that they had to make a U-turn to avoid the SUV. “They started firing at us as we didn’t stop. We sped away and their vehicle went on towards Behror. We are taking another route through the villages to reach Alwar and meet the SP,” he added.

“We don’t even know this route and are asking locals for directions,  who will depose if we are killed too?,” Irshad said.

The witnesses were coming from Nuh in adjacent Haryana, where they live. “We don’t have faith in Behror police because they gave a clean chit to the six witnesses named in the FIR. So we’re approaching the SP directly. How can we depose in such circumstances? The case should be transferred from Behror to Alwar,” Hayat said.

Alwar SP Rajendra Singh said, “They have not approached us yet and we have come to know only from the media. If they approach us we will take action as required.”

Irshad and Arif were with their father Pehlu Khan in a pick-up truck on April 1 last year when they and Azmat and Rafiq were attacked by gau rakshaks in Alwar while they were on their way to Haryana after purchasing cattle in Rajasthan. Pehlu Khan, a 55-year-old dairy farmer, succumbed to his injuries two days later.