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

By A 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

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog