2017 Alwar mob lynching
The 2017 Alwar mob lynching was the attack and murder of Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Nuh district of Haryana, allegedly by a group of 200 cow vigilantes affiliated with right-wing Hindutva groups in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. Six others who were with Pehlu Khan were also beaten by the cow vigilantes. Background. The Supreme Court has issued notices to Rajasthan along with four other Indian states (Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka) and to the central government asking for a ban on such groups. During the attack, Rajasthan and the neighboring state of Haryana were  ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and cow vigilante groups were active in those states. Incident. The victim was Pehlu Khan, a 55-year old resident Jaisinghpur village, in Nuh tehsil of Mewat. On 31 March, he left his village for Jaipur to purchase dairy cattle. Khan was one of only 10 dairy farmers in his village, and he was hoping to increase milk production for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. On 1 April, Khan, along with six others, was returning from Jaipur to his village in Nuh, Haryana, carrying cows and calves. They were allegedly stopped near Jaguwas  crossing at Jaipur-Delhi national highway by 200 cow vigilantes. Khan showed a Jaipur civic document as proof the cows had been bought for milk. According to Irshad, the son of Pehlu Khan who with him, "We had all the relevant papers to show that we were carrying the cows for dairy farming. We showed them the receipt of sale and purchase. But they were in no mood to listen to us. They tore our documents and attacked my father in front of my eyes." Despite the documentation, Khan and others were dragged out of their vehicles. The mob beat  them with rods and sticks. Pehlu Khan later died from his injuries, whilst others, though seriously injured, survived. The perpetrators also reportedly robbed the victims of their cellphones and wallets (the victims said they lost Rs. 110,000). Arrests. Police have arrested three people; Kalu Ram aged 44 of Ratanpura, Vipin Yadav aged 19, and Ravindra Yadav aged 30 from Behror. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured justice for the lynching incident. Response. The incident was widely condemned, and many called for the government to crack down on cow-protection vigilante groups. Government. Rajasthan's Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria defended  the cow vigilantes, describing their deed as "alright" and blaming the victims for illegally transporting animals though the victims had documents from Jaipur Municipal Corporation for the purchase of cows. Initially, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also denied the incident and stated "Alwar gau rakshak attack did not happen", but later admitted the incident and tried to clarify his earlier remark. Federal Minister Hansraj Ahir condemned the incident. Congress vice President Rahul Gandhi condemned the killing. Other. Sadhvi Kamal Didi praised the vigilantes accused of carrying out the lynching. Kamal Didi is the president of Rasthriya  Mahila Gau Rakshak Dal, a cow-protection group. She equated the accused to popular historical Indian figures like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad, saying the vigilantes of today will "be known as heroes in the future".