Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Anguished by yet another incident of lynching from Alwar district in Rajasthan, the National Commission for Minorities on Monday lambasted the local police for its "negligence" in dealing with the matter and went on to say that the victim died due to police's negligence.
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The minorities panel sought a detailed report from authorities on the issue, especially asking them to provide details of the incident whether there was any delay on police's part to take victim Rakbar Khan to hospital.
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NCM Chairman Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi told the New Indian Express that the panel has taken suo motu note of Friday's incident when Khan was lynched allegedly on suspicions of cow smuggling. The panel cited news reports to question police's role in the incident, saying the victim was allegedly kept in police custody for 45 minutes before he was taken to the hospital and that when the police finally decided to take him to the hospital "which was hardly 1 kilometre away", they even stopped for tea midway.
In a letter addressed to the District Collector and DM of Alwar, Rizvi said, "Due to the negligence of the police, Rakbar Khan succumbed to the fatal injuries and was declared brought dead by the doctors. It will not be out of context to mention here that a few months ago, Pehlu Khan was beaten to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district by a mob of so-called "Gua Rakshaaks".
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NCM is extremely pained to say that the district administration of Alwar has not learnt any lesson from the past incident. The NCM has asked the district administration to submit an action taken a report to the panel within a week.
"You are requested to send an action taken a report...informing as to what action has been taken to arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime and steps taken by the district administration so that such unfortunate incidents do not occur in future. Please note if no reply is received, a hearing shall be called by the NCM."
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The Supreme Court last week had urged the government to enact laws separate to those against murder to act as a deterrent against lynchings, following a series of attacks in which mobs have beaten people to death.
