India: 6 acquitted in 2017 mob killing case

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - A court in central Indian acquitted six of nine defendants Wednesday in a 2017 lynching case caught on video.

The remaining three defendants are minors and are being tried in juvenile court.

The decision shocked the family of Pehlu Khan, 55, a Muslim slain in the lynching.

“We have lost faith in the law. For two-and-a-half years, we have been waiting for justice,” Khan’s eldest son, Irshad, told the Hindustan Times.

"We thought that justice would be delivered and it would give peace to my father’s soul but instead our hopes were shattered."

Pehlu Khan was killed and his associates seriously wounded in Alwar, Rajasthan in April 2017 while transporting cows in the district.

The defendants were captured on cellphone camera but a trial court in Alwar said the video was not clear.

The disturbing video, which went viral, helped police identify and arrest some of the accused.

Two First Information Reports (FIRs) -- initial documents helping to guide possible charges -- were filed in the case, the first against the attackers and the other charging Pehlu Khan and his sons with transporting cattle from Rajasthan to another state reportedly without a permit, said NDTV.

The Rajasthan government has decided to appeal Wednesday's decision to a higher court, officials announced.