Alwar/ Mewat: Sharma claimed that residents of Lalawandi were witness to cops thrashing Rakbar while he was cleaning himself.Sharma said that after tipping off the cops at 12.41, he accompanied them as ASI Mohan Singh told him to come to the police station because of shortage of staff. “I sat in the police vehicle and showed them the spot,” Sharma said, adding that the mob fled after it spotted the police vehicle. Sharma had received a call about Rakbar from Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh, two of the three arrested in the case. Two minutes after receiving their call he dialled the police.Sharma claimed that when he reached the spot around 1 pm, Rakbar was limping a bit, but he could talk properly. “He complained of pain in one of his legs and it appeared as if he had difficulty getting into the jeep,” he said, adding that Yadav, who was arrested from the spot, even brought a shirt for Rakbar.The VHP activist claimed that after returning to Ramgarh police station from Lalawandi, he left with some constables to take cows to the gaushala. He claimed he saw Rakbar get down from the police jeep and walk to the police station. “When I returned, they told me that Rakbar was dead. The two youths they have arrested had actually taken cows to the gaushala, but police framed them,” he claimed.Another ‘gau rakshak’ said on condition of anonymity: “What did the cops do with Rakbar for three hours? ‘Gau rakshaks’ didn’t kill him, he died in police custody.”The allegation was echoed by Mamman Khan, a local politician, at Rakbar’s Kol village in Mewat district.“Even if we believe the version of the cops, then they took three hours to take Rakbar to the hospital, where he was brought dead. So, when did they take his dying declaration? Isn’t it obvious they took him to the police station first because to them, he was an accused, a cow smuggler and not an injured victim?” he said.On Sunday, police were deployed at Kol village, which was crowded by mourners and mediapersons. The family has been promised compensation of Rs 8 lakh so far, from various quarters. But allegations that Rakbar was killed in police custody have left the villagers angry and hurt.Rajasthan Police reached Rakbar’s village on Sunday morning and recorded the statement of Aslam, the sole eyewitness to the horrific mob violence. Sources said that Aslam, who had accompanied Rakbar to Alwar to buy cows, had given the names of five attackers, including Yadav.Meanwhile, difficult days lie ahead for Rakbar’s family as they mourn his death. His widow Asmina, father Suleman and seven children — Shahila, Shayma, Sakil, Ikrana, Ikram, Rehan and Manshira — are still in shock and tears.“Bring him back. He harmed no one. He was a simple man. It was a sin to call him a killer of the cows he so lovingly reared,” Asmina said.The mood among the villagers was one of pessimism. “You think this will end here? No. Unless justice is provided, those people will be encouraged further and they will continue to kill people,” said Sirajuddin, a Kol resident.

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