Jaipur: Police has filed a second chargesheet following the death of Haryana dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, naming latter's two companions as accused and concludes that all three had indulged in ‘cow smuggling' under state laws.
The charge sheet is filed in the court of the Behror additional chief judicial magistrate.
Following Khan's lynching on April 1, police had registered two cases — one against Khan's murderers and another against Khan and his companions for ‘indulging in cow smuggling.'
Based on video footage of the lynching, police had charged nine men with the murder of Khan but another investigation in September last year had cleared six of them.
The January 24 chargesheet names four as accused – Azmat and Rafique -residents of Khan's village, Jaisinghpur in Haryana, Arjun Lal Yadav who was driving one of the two pickup trucks that were attacked and his father Jagdish Prasad.
Both Azmat and Rafique were injured in the attack and Yadav too was thrashed up, but he managed to run away.
"We didn't get any document to say that they were transporting the animals legally, that's why they have been found guilty of smuggling cows," an investigating officer told.
"We were attacked and beaten up by the mob, and now we have been made the accused" asked Azmat.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said a 7-km railway barricade has been approved for the Madikeri division and 20 km for the Nagarhole division in 2025–26 to curb human-elephant conflict in the regions.
Responding to a proposal raised by BJP MLC Suja Kushalappa during Zero Hour in the Legislative Council, he assured that work on the proposed railway barricades would begin soon.
Citing the death of a 17-year-old girl in an elephant attack on February 28 and that of a tribal woman on March 9 in the state, the minister said these deaths caused by elephant attacks were "extremely painful".
"Human life is very precious and cannot be valued in monetary terms. The Forest Department is taking all measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict."
The minister further said steps such as maintenance of elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fencing were being undertaken, while two elephant task forces were currently in operation.
Orders have also been issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden to capture two rogue elephants.
In both cases, Rs 5 lakh compensation has already been disbursed to the families of the deceased, and the remaining Rs 15 lakh each will be provided within a week, he added.
Khandre said the government was making sincere efforts to find a permanent solution to the human–elephant conflict.
