Fourth accused in Rakbar Khan lynching case arrested

The fourth accused in Rakbar Khan lynching case has been arrested, police said on Saturday.

Khan was brutally beaten to death on suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar district.

According to the police, the fourth accused, 34-year-old Vijay Murtiya was arrested on August 22 from Jaipur. He was handed over to Ramgarh Police. The search for the fifth accused, Naval Kishor is underway.

"We have arrested the fourth accused and we will be questioning him further. The state government has appointed Advocate Ashok Sharma as Additional Public Prosecutor for strong advocacy in the Rakbar case after all the six accused were acquitted in Pehlu Khan lynching case," said Deshmukh Parish ANIL, Superintendent of Police (SP) Alwar.

After all the six accused were acquitted in Pehlu Khan lynching case, a disorder took place between the government and police. Soon after that, the state government appointed Ashok Sharma as Additional Public Prosecutor for sturdy advocacy.

On September 7, 2018, the Alwar police charged three men in connection with the case.

Rakbar, a resident of Haryana and his friend Aslam, were allegedly transporting two cows to Kolgaon through a forest area on July 21, 2018, when a mob allegedly attacked them presuming they were taking the animals for slaughter. While his friend Aslam managed to survive as he hid in the fields, Rakbar Khan died.