Will They Keep Taking Lives Like This? Asks Mother of Muslim Man Slain in Palwal

Rahul Khan was allegedly beaten by three of his friends on 13 December. He succumbed to his injuries the next day.

While the family alleges that it was a communal issue, the police have denied that there was a communal angle.

(Photo: Ashna Butani/The Quint)

Video Editors: Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Suman

“They (Rahul and Kalua) were friends for two years, and they shared a deep bond. We want to know why Kalua and the two others killed him...” said Shaheena Khan, wife of Rahul Khan (22), who was allegedly beaten up brutally by three of his friends on 13 December. Khan succumbed to his injuries on 14 December.

On 16 December, the family came across a video purportedly showing the three beating Khan while hurling communal slurs at him. They told him, “You're a Muslim, we are Hindus,” as they hit him with rods.

The three accused in the case have now been arrested. But even as the family alleges that it was a case of hate crime, the police have ruled out the communal angle.

What Happened on the Night of 13 December?

Narrating the incident to The Quint, Khan’s mother Rajjo said that Kalua had come to pick him up on his motorcycle at around 9:30 pm on 13 December. Khan was at a wedding nearby at the time.

On 14 December, the family was told that Rahul had an accident and that he was at Kalua’s house. She said,

“His head was split open at three places, legs had injuries, and his nails were pulled out. He was incapable of getting up.”

The family then took him to a government hospital and later shifted him to a private hospital.

Akram, Khan's brother-in-law, said, “Kalua told us that it was an accident – and we thought that he was a friend and wouldn’t lie. Based on that, we filed an FIR [First Information Report].” The police had filed an FIR under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (a) (death caused by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On 16 December, after the video of the incident went viral, the family returned to the police station, after which the police added sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

Over the next three days, the police arrested the three men – Aakash, Kalua, and Vishal. They were all in their 20s and allegedly part of a gang. “They had been friends for approximately two years. They were drinking and had a fight over the phone,” said Yashpal Khatana, DSP (City) Palwal.

Shakuntala, Kalua's mother told The Wire that the four men were part of the same gang and that her son used to do drugs and was an alcoholic.

Khan's family was still shocked that his friends did this to him. Rajjo said, “When his treatment was going on, he told his wife, ‘Shaheena, ask Kalua why he beat me. I do not have his money. Why did he beat me and why this bitterness?’”

‘We Were Dependent on Him’

A sense of gloom filled the family’s new house in Khatela Sarai, which Khan had been working on for the last four months. They said that he barely got to stay in the new house. Before that, Rahul used to work as a bike mechanic. His wife, Shaheena Khan sits alone in the room that was she and Rahul were supposed to stay in. She said, “We had planned our future. He wanted to open his own bike repair shop.”

Both of his elder sisters are married and his parents are now alone. Rajia Khan, his sister, said, “He used to manage the household. My father is old and cannot do much.” Khan was the only wage earner in the house as his father had recently retired from his job in the Railways.

"Will they keep taking lives like this? A sister’s brother, a father’s son, a wife's husband… will they keep taking lives like this?”

Rajjo Khan, Rahul's mother

Family Alleges a Communal Angle, Police Deny

After they saw the video, the family said it was clear it was a hate crime.

When the family discussed the issue on Monday evening, as they sat by a fire outside their house, even neighbours chimed in, saying that it was a communal issue.

Rajia said, “I don’t know why they killed him, but I want to know why they killed him and why did they say in the video, 'You are a Muslim, and we are Hindus.' I want to know why they said this, and why they killed my brother. My brother was alone, I don't have another brother.”

However, the police have ruled out this claim. The police said that the men were drinking and that they had a fight regarding a phone.

"The accused said that in the spur of the moment. There is no communal angle to it.”

Yashpal Khatana, DSP (city) Palwal

While there was a fight regarding a phone, the family said that it was not enough reason to spur the hatred. Elaborating on this, Shaheena said, “Two months ago, Kalua had taken his phone and then he asked him for the phone for a few days. Then he [Rahul] bought a new phone. They used to blame him and take money from him, Rs 2,000, sometimes Rs 3,000, but never gave it back and in the end, they killed him.”