BJP lawmaker Gyan Dev Ahuja also questioned why Rakbar Khan was in the Lallawandi village at midnight.
Alwar's BJP lawmaker Gyan Dev Ahuja, who made headlines yesterday by saying cow slaughter was worse than terrorism, today said a case should be filed against Rakbar Khan, the 28-year-old who died earlier this month after being beaten by a mob which suspected him of cattle smuggling. In an echo of the case involving Pehlu Khan -- a 55-year-old dairy farmer beaten to death last year - the lawmaker also expressed hope that the three men arrested in the case will be released.
Rakbar Khan and his friend Aslam - residents of a village in Haryana -- were attacked at a village in Alwar on the night of July 21, when they were taking two cows they had bought from a nearby village. Rakbar died as the police took their time to take him to a hospital - reaching 3 hours after rescuing him. By the time the man was dead.
The case evoked widespread outrage and action was taken against three police officers.
Mr Ahuja, however, questioned why Rakbar was in the Lallawandi village at midnight.
"There should be action against Rakbar and Aslam. What were they doing there at 12 in the night if they were not cattle smugglers? Their brothers and sons are involved in cattle smuggling," Mr Ahuja told reporters today.
"Their village is Kolgaon in Haryana and not Rajasthan. So what were they doing hanging around and what did they hear?" he added.
After the death of Pehlu Khan in April last year, the Rajasthan police had accused him and his family of cattle smuggling, looking up his past records. His family was charged under the bovine act with illegal transportation of cattle. His son is now contesting the case.
In September, the police released the six men he had named in his deathbed confession, saying they were not at the spot when the dairy farmer was beaten up by a lynch mob. The police even removed their names from the First Information Report in the case.
The Rajasthan government has announced a judicial inquiry into the death of Rakbar Khan and announced a compensation for the family.