ALWAR/NEW DELHI, July 23:
Days after alleged lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar by a cow vigilante group in Alwar, four policemen faced action today amid complaints of lapses on their part, even as the Centre sought a report from the State and the Supreme Court agreed to hear a contempt plea against the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP Government in Rajasthan for failing to check such incidents.
Besides, the police has formed a special committee to probe allegations that Rakbar was beaten by policemen too and that there was a delay in taking him to hospital, officials said.
While the Union Home Ministry sought a report from the State on the incident, a political slugfest ensued between the Congress and the BJP — inside and outside Parliament — with the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi alleging that hatred has replaced humanity in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Brutal New India’ and the saffron party returning the charge by calling the opposition leader a “merchant of hate” indulging in “vulture politics” whenever a crime happens.
The police has arrested three persons suspected to be involved in the attack on Rakbar, alias Akbar Khan, even as a video surfaced today purportedly showing an Assistant Sub-Inspector admitting to his mistake for alleged delay in taking the victim to hospital.
As the civil society and opposition parties mounted their pressure, with the State Congress chief Sachin Pilot demanding a judicial inquiry, the Rajasthan Police set up a four-member committee to probe allegations against the policemen.
Within hours, the four-member panel ordered suspension of the then officer in-charge and transferred three others to police lines.
“There was an error in judgement in trying to respond to the situation. The preliminary investigation suggests there was an error in prioritising the situation,” Special DGP (Law and Order) NRK Reddy, a member of the committee, said at a press conference in Alwar while announcing the action against the four policemen.
The panel will also probe whether Rakbar became a victim of police beating on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday and appropriate action would be taken if any lapses were found in the enquiry report, the State Director General of Police (DGP) O P Galhotra said.
This overall probe is being conduced by an Additional SP-rank officer.
While two persons, Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh, were arrested on Saturday, the third accused, Naresh Singh, was arrested yesterday and they are under police custody for five days, police said.
In the national capital, the Supreme Court agreed to hear on August 28 the pleas seeking contempt action against the Rajasthan Government in this case. (PTI)
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