Alwar cow vigilantism: 'No such incident took place,' says MoS Naqvi; Rahul Gandhi hits out at govt
The deceased, Pehlu Khan was beaten up by cow vigilantes on Saturday while they were transporting cows in six vehicles to Haryana.
The death of a 55-year-old man who was allegedly beaten up by a group of cow vigilantes, took a political turn on Wednesday after Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said no such incident took place as described by the opposition in the House.
Naqvi made remarks responding to Congress MP Madhusudan Mistry’s statement.
"I am extremely sorry that the minister is so ill-informed. Even the New York Times knows and the minister doesn't know," said the Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad reacting to Naqvi's remarks.
The deceased, Pehlu Khan, and four others, including his two sons, were beaten brutally and their vans damaged by some locals at Behror who suspected they were smuggling cows on Sunday.
The incident took place when the victims were on their way towards Haryana from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway. Pehlu Khan, his sons Aarif (22) and Irshad (25) were in the first van, while two more persons Ajmat (28) and Sharif (24) were in the second.
Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said he expects the government to take strict action against those responsible for the brutal and senseless attack.
"When government abdicates responsibility and allows lynch mobs to rule, tragedies of immense proportion follow. Shocking breakdown of law & order in Alwar," he tweeted. "All right thinking Indians must condemn this blind brutality," Rahul added.