2 cattle transporters, aide died after jumping off Chhattisgarh bridge, no assault on them: Police chargesheet

RAIPUR: Three men, who were transporting cattle last month in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district, died when they jumped off a river bridge after being chased for more than 50km in cars by a group of people and there was no assault on them, police have said in a chargesheet filed 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, police sources said on Wednesday.

In the wee hours of June 7, two cattle transporters, Guddu Khan (35) and Chand Miya Khan (23), died under suspicious circumstances after being allegedly chased by a mob in the Arnag police station area of the district, police had earlier said.

Their associate, Saddam Qureshi, suffered injuries in the incident and succumbed in a Raipur hospital on June 18.

The three men, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were spotted below the bridge on the Mahanadi river in the Arang area, while their truck with buffaloes was found parked on the bridge.

The Arang police had then lodged an FIR in the connection with case under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC against unidentified persons.

After the death of Qureshi, the police said his post-mortem report did not mention homicidal injuries and dropped the murder attempt charge.

The police then constituted a 14-member special team headed by Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kirtan Rathore to probe the case. The police later arrested five persons from different places and filed the chargesheet against them 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 Mahanadi river after one of its tyres got damaged due to iron spikes and stones pelted by the accused."

Out of fear, the trio (the deceased) got down from the vehicle and jumped off the bridge into the river in a bid to save their lives, it said.

In the entire incident, the accused chased the truck at a 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 being treated for about two weeks. He died as a result of serious injuries he sustained after jumping from the bridge, said 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, had claimed a mob had chased and attacked the three persons when they, in a truck loaded with cattle (buffaloes), were heading from Mahasamund (neighbouring district) to Arang.

The complainant had claimed he had got a call from Chand Khan, adding that his friend Mohsin was called by Qureshi when they were being attacked.

"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 telling that his limbs were broken, Shoheb Khan said.