Alwar, July 23: The Rajasthan Police on Monday admitted "error of judgement" in handling the case of alleged lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar in Alwar, as it suspended one and transferred three policemen, even as it refuted allegations of "custodial death".
The action was taken after a video purportedly showing assistant sub inspector Mohan Singh, who was posted at the Ramgarh police station, admitting to his 'mistake', went viral. The video surfaced hours after allegations that the Alwar police took nearly three hours to take Khan to the Ramgarh community healthcare centre. "Mere se galti hogai...kaise bhi maan lo..saja de do ya chhodh do...seedhi si baat hai (I made a mistake...punish me or pardon me...it is simple and straight)," the ASI can be heard purportedly saying in the video. The admission comes hours after reports claimed that police had stopped to have tea, and got the victim's clothes changed at the police station before taking him to the Ramgarh Community Health Centre. It is alleged that when the incident happened in Alwar's Lalawandi village, it took over two-and-a-half hours for the police to take the victim to the Ramgarh Community Healthcare Centre, which is nearly 4km away. Khan and his friend Aslam were taking cows to their villages in Haryana through a forest in Alwar's Ramgarh area when they were accosted by a mob and allegedly attacked. While Aslam managed to flee, Khan was allegedly lynched. As per the FIR lodged with Ramgarh police station on Saturday, Naval Kishore Sharma, the chief of VHP's 'Gau Raksha' cell in Ramgarh, had informed the police about the incident at 12.41am on Saturday. Police reached the spot at around 1.15am and recorded Khan's statement before taking him to the police station. As per the CHC entry register, the body of a 28-year-old male was brought in at 4.00am. Questioning the role of the police, local Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja demanded a judicial enquiry to find out if Khan was lynched by a mob or beaten to death by the cops. The probe was handed over to additional SP (crime and vigilance), Jaipur Range, on Sunday. "The investigation will be carried out in a fair and transparent manner," IG Hemant Priyadarshi had said.