Cattle Transporters In Chhattisgarh Died After Jumping Off Bridge, Not Assaulted: Chargesheet

Three cattle transporters died after jumping off a bridge in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, Chhattisgar following a 50 km chase by a group of people in cars and there was no assault on them, according to the police chargesheet in the case.

The chargesheet submitted in a Raipur court on July 8 claimed the trio, who was in a truck, was chased by five accused in cars for about 53km before they jumped off the bridge, NDTV reported citing police sources.

On 7 June, in the early morning hours, two cattle transporters Guddu Khan (35) and Chand Miya Khan (23) died under suspicious circumstancesafter being allegedly chased by a mob in the Arang police station area of the district, police had earlier said.

Their colleague, Saddam Qureshi, who suffered injuries in the incident, later died in a Raipur hospital on 18 June.

The trio, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were spotted below the bridge over Mahanadi river in Arang, with their truck carrying buffaloes parked on the bridge.

Arang police registered an FIR in the case under sections 304 (culpable homicide), 307 (attempt to murder), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC against unidentified persons.

Following Qureshi's death, the police stated his post-mortem report did not mention homicidal injuries, and dropped the murder attempt charge.

A 14-member special team, led by Raipur Additional SP (Rural) Kirtan Rathore, was formed to investigate the case.

Five persons were arrested later and charged under section 304 of the IPC.

The chargesheet stated, "All five accused got information about a vehicle possibly engaged in transportation of cattle. The accused in three cars chased the truck and tried to stop it by throwing iron spikes-embedded wooden strip and pieces of glass on vehicle. The truck driver also drove on the wrong side for about 14 km in a bid to escape but the accused continued chasing them. The truck finally stopped over the bridge on the Mahanadi river after one of its tyres got damaged due to iron spikes and stones pelted by the accused."

Out of fear, the three men exited the vehicle and jumped off the bridge to save their lives, according to the chargesheet.

In the entire incident, the accused chased the truck at high speed for about 53km and tried to stop it illegally, which shows the accused knew that by their act, the persons in the truck were likely to die or suffer such bodily injury which would lead to death, said the police document.

Ultimately, frightened by the act of the accused, the trio got down from the truck and jumped into the river from the bridge, due to which one of the three, Chand Khan, died on the spot.

Another cattle transporter, Guddu Khan, died while being taken to hospital, it said.

Their associate, Qureshi, succumbed after two weeks of treatment due to serious injuries after jumping from the bridge, according to the chargesheet.

The act of the accused falls under the criminal act mentioned in section 304 of the IPC (IPC). After investigation, a chargesheet was submitted under sections 304 and 34 of the IPC, it added.

After the incident, complainant Shoheb Khan, a cousin of Chand Khan and Qureshi, claimed that a mob had chased and attacked the trio while they were transporting buffaloes from Mahasamund to Arang.

Shoheb Khan claimed receiving a call from Chand Khan and added Qureshi had called his friend Mohsin during the attack.

"Chand told me they were being attacked by a mob. But before he could provide any detail, the call got disconnected," Shoheb Khan had claimed.

In the second call to Mohsin, which lasted for 47 minutes, Qureshi could be heard saying that his limbs were broken, Shoheb Khan said.

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