After Seeing Many Killed, Rajasthan Becomes Second Indian State To Make Law Against Mob Lynching

In April 2017, Pehlu Khan, a Haryana native was lynched by a mob of over 200 while the cattle farmer, who was returning from Jaipur to Nuh in Haryana after buying cows.

The mob confronted him in Alwar after rumors spread that they were trafficking the cows to be slaughtered. He was then beaten to death while his son was injured. This was one of the most shocking cases of mob lynchings that have been reported in India in recent years.

Just a few months later, in June a 55-year-old man, Zafar Islam, was lynched in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan by a group of local municipal officers when he tried to stop them from photographing women who were defecating in the open.

On November 12, 2017, Umar Khan, a dairy farmer from Ghatmika, was killed in Fahari, after he was returning with newly purchased cows from Alwar. He was also accused of cattle theft and shot at. His dismembered body was found on the railway tracks near Govindgarh in Alwar district.

In July 2018, 28-year-old Rakbar Khan was lynched by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan¡¯s Alwar district who accused him of cattle theft, which his family says is false.

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These are some of the recent incidents of mob killings that had brought shame to Rajasthan and India as a whole.

Now, Rajasthan has finally woken up and has decided to act tough on those indulging in mob justice.

The Rajasthan legislative assembly on Monday passed a bill providing for life imprisonment and a fine from ?1 lakh to ?5 lakh to those convicted in cases of mob lynching leading to victim¡¯s death.

¡®The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019¡¯ was passed by the Vidhan Sabha by a voice vote amid vociferous protest by the Opposition BJP, which wanted the Bill to be referred to a select committee.

The Bill was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal in the state assembly last week.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced his government¡¯s intention to enact the law while replying to the debate on the State Budget on July 16.

Dhariwal told the House that the Bill was introduced to ensure that the incidents of mob lynching are not repeated in the State. ¡°After 2014, 86% of cases of mob lynching reported in the country happened in Rajasthan. The State is considered a peaceful State and such incidents have put a blot on it,¡± he said.

According to the proposal, an assault by mob, leading to the victim suffering grievous hurts, will be punishable by a jail term up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 25,000 to Rs 3 lakh.

In cases of the victims suffering simple injuries, the Bill proposes imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh.

For hatching a conspiracy of lynching or aiding, abetting or attempting such an offence, the Bill seeks to punish the offenders in the same manner as if he actually committed the offence of lynching.

The Bill also empowers the State police chief to appoint a state coordinator of the rank of Inspector General of Police to prevent the incidents of lynching in the State with the district Superintendents of Police acting as the district¡¯s coordinator, to be assisted by a Deputy Superintendents of Police, for taking measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching.