Skip to main content

Umar's murder: Rajasthan cops arrest two victims of cow vigilante attack; it's travesty of justice, says PUCL

By Our Representative
In what is being described as “travesty of justice”, the Rajasthan police have arrested Tahir Mohammad and Javed Jabaa, the two eye witnesses in the gruesome murder of Umar Mohammad, who was killed on November 11, after which his body was dumped on railway track. They have been arrested on the basis of FIR No 273/2017 for seeking to smuggle cows.
The police are said to have called Tahir, who was in hospital with a bullet wound, and Javed, who had escaped following the attack by cow vigilantes, to the police station. They were detained and then arrested. Both have been kept in police lock up.
On the day of the murder, Umar and two his colleagues were returning to their village after purchasing cattle from Rajasthan on November 11. During the incident, which took place in Alwar district, they were accosted by a group of seven men, who opened fire. Umar died on the spot, while Javed escaped. Tahir was hit, but managed to escape.
Accused of murder, two cow vigilantes – Ramveer Gurjar and Bhagwan Singh – were also arrested and have reportedly confessed to the killing and mutilating Umar’s body by placing it on the railway track. There is, however, no sign of the others, also accused in the murder, being arrest.
Well-known human rights organization, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan, condemning the arrest, said that the police wants to build pressure on these two boys, because they are key witnesses in the murder of Umar. Kavita Shrivsatava of PUCL suspects, the police is seeking to dilute the case by bargaining a deal.
“Clearly showing that the Government has given absolute impunity to the killers and they will strike again and again”, she alleges.
Calling it a “travesty of justice”, Shrivastava said, “The Alwar district police should have arrested the killers, the so called gau rakshaks, those who tried to destroy evidence. Clearly, this shows that the Government has given absolute impunity to the killers so that they can strike again and again.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, the PUCL has demanded that “the closure of FIR number 273/2017, calling it “false cow smuggling case”, insisting that “the Government of Rajasthan and its police take immediate action in the case of murder. “
In a communique, signed by Shrivastava and other PUCL office bearers, forwarded to Counterview, the PUCL said, “From the beginning we have been saying that the police have a lot to answer in this case: The firing on the pickup vehicle with Umar and others, moving the body of Umar from one area to another 15km away, brutalizing it, dismembering the head, throwing the body on the railway line, stealing the wheels of the pickup carrying the cows etc.”
It added, “By trying to foreground the smuggling case, it is putting the burden of crime and criminality on the victims. The police said that Tahir and Javed have confessed to the crime of smuggling. In the Gurgaon Ryan school case, too, the Haryana police had said that the driver had confessed, yet the criminal was another person.”
Seeking immediate transfer of the case to an SIT or CBI, and release of Tahir and Javed, PUCL said, others responsible for Umar’s murder and shootout should also be arrested, and the police in charge on the 10th November morning of Govindgarh police station, as also the superintendent of police, Alwar district, should be suspended for providing impunity to cow vigilantes for manipulating evidence.

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey*  South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

'Vulgar display of wealth': Govt of India using G20 presidency for political, electoral gains

Counterview Desk  Seeking endorsement for a public statement on India's G20 Presidency, several people’s movements, trade unions and other civil society groups have come together to say that not only will G20 and its priorities “will worsen economic, social and climate crisis”, already, India’s presidency is being used “for vulgar display of pomp & for electoral gains.”