Not enough manpower to prevent every situation, says Rajasthan Minister on Alwar incident

Reacting to the incident, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said on Monday that the State did not have enough manpower to “control” every situation well in time.

Umar Khan’s body was found near railway tracks in Ramgarh on November 11, with his family members and activists alleging that he was shot dead by cow vigilantes when he was ferrying cattle in a vehicle the day before.

The incident, which came months after the lynching of dairy farmer Pehlu Khan by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar, has triggered an outrage.

“The incident took place at night and police are acting on the case. One person has been detained,” Mr. Kataria said and expressed hope that the case would be cracked soon.

He said strict action would be taken against the culprits irrespective of their religion.

“We don’t have so much manpower to enable us to control every situation at all places, even before an incident is reported [hamare pass itni manpower nahin hai, ki har jagah, har sthiti ko samay se pehle control kar saken],” he said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alwar (South), Anil Beniwal said the detained person was being interrogated.

An FIR has been registered at Govindgarh police station under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) against unidentified people, based on a complaint lodged by Umar Khan’s family members.

Umar Khan’s family members have demanded immediate arrest of the accused and compensation.

A post-mortem on Umar Khan’s body was yet to be conducted at the SMS Hospital in Jaipur where the body was referred from Alwar on November 12.

Hospital superintendent D.S. Meena said that the post-mortem would be conducted by a medical board constituted in the case.

Social worker Maulana Haneef claimed on Sunday that Khan, along with two others, was ferrying cattle in a vehicle when unidentified men opened fire at them. Khan died on the spot, while another suffered bullet injuries.

In April this year, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan was lynched by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar while he was transporting cattle.

The incident comes ahead of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s scheduled visit to Alwar. Ms. Raje has been visiting various areas under the Alwar Lok Sabha constituency which is gearing up for a bypoll, necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MP Mahant Chandnath.