MillenniumPost
Opinion

No one killed Pehlu Khan

The Rajasthan police and prosecution lost a golden opportunity to make an example of Pehlu Khan’s tragic lynching

Sacred Games Season 2…that's all anyone wants to talk about this week, isn't it? I'll admit that the second season is more deftly executed than the first. More clarity and maturity in the direction skills as the story moves in and out of two narratives that run parallel. The scene that stayed with me (*spoiler alert*) is a scene where a Muslim youth is mercilessly and cruelly lynched by a mob that included a few minors. The inhuman behaviour of the mob fuelled by deep hatred is unwatchable. I salute the writer and filmmakers for making the audience sit uncomfortably through those painful couple of minutes. Lest you forget, lynching is an ugly occurrence in the Indian reality today.

Remember that dairy farmer who was lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar in April 2017? The video of the victim dressed in white salwar kurta being beaten to a pulp went viral. We squirmed while watching it, some made excuses for the governments (state and central) but the reality was that such

dastardly acts were taking place in India. Pehlu Khan, the dairy farmer's only crime was to travel from his village, Nuh, in Haryana, to purchase cattle in order to increase milk production in time for Ramzan. He had the purchase receipts that he showed his perpetrators on the Delhi-Alwar highway but rage and hatred don't listen to reason and rationale. Pehlu Khan succumbed to his injuries in hospital; a case was filed against nine people, including three minors. This week a lower court in Rajasthan acquitted all six accused adults on grounds of reasonable doubt.

The eyewitness video shot on a mobile phone was not enough, the court said, and the news channel sting where one of the accused is admitting to his role in the act was also not admissible. The man who recorded the viral video did not testify while another who had also made a video had turned hostile. Shockingly, the video was not sent for forensic analysis and therefore, could not be considered as evidence. The Rajasthan police and the prosecution both just did not seem to have their heart in the investigation. Two years was not long enough for the prosecution to get its act together and present a strong case. Shame!

The Rajasthan government passed an anti-lynching law just last week but a new law alone can't change the attitude of the administrators. Pehlu Khan's case was ideal for both the state and central government to drive home a point – there would be no tolerance for perpetrators of lynching. Instead, quite the opposite has been communicated to prospective 'lynchers' – go ahead and take the law into your own hands, make videos of the brutality, make daring confessions also on video…but you will walk away scot-free. The wrath of the law will not strike, primarily because the authorities aren't looking to set an example in the first place!

While lynching can quite easily extend to non-religious matters, today where we stand, they can be viewed only as crimes of religious hate. Two months ago, the Indian government rubbished a US department report on religious freedom that stated "mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities" continued in the country. The government said that India is proud of its "secular credentials" and remains "committed to tolerance". The onus is on the government to walk the talk and instruct states to do the same.

Only the fear of the law can curb the evil within. But a law is effective only if its implementation can stop incidents of lynching. Otherwise, these laws remain only the written word unfollowed in spirit. And we continue to fail the likes of Pehlu Khan and others who have added their names to the ever-lengthening list of lynching victims.

(The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. The views expressed are strictly personal)

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