Taking notice of the abject poverty in which Pehlu Khan’s family was living after his killing, US based relief organisation, Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC) through Haryana based Mewat Trust handed over a new tractor to his family.The tractor was donated to the family, so as to supplement their income, who were struggling to survive with the little finances left by the deceased.Three months after dairy farmer Pehlu Khan’s was lynched by self-styled cow vigilantes in Behror area of Alwar, Rajasthan, his family back in Haryana is yet to come out of the shock and tragedy that struck them.A resident of Jaisinghpur, 15 km from Nuh town in Mewat, Haryana, deceased Khan was father of eight children and the lone breadwinner of a family of 14 people which included his grand kids. Khan’s son Arshad Khan, 23, who was also beaten by the cow vigilantes, is too horrified to go back to continue his father’s business.“The killing of my father was a brutal act. He was killed like an animal. After that day I live in fear and I won’t ever buy cattle’s again,” said Arshad Khan.“Bhooke mar jaun ga magar ye vayapar kabhi nahi karunga (I will starve and die, but won’t ever do this trade again),”he said. “He was the sole earner for our family. After he died there is no income coming in. Everything has gone with him. Some people have helped us but that isn’t sufficient enough and won’t last long,” he added.
After the tractor was handed over to Arshad, the family is relieved that they will have a stable source of income. Arshad plans to use the tractor on his own agricultural land, as well as rent out it to others, so that he can earn some money, which he intends to use to educate his younger siblings and feed the family.“This tractor will make sure that we will have a permanent source of income. People used to give us little money, but that wasn’t sufficient but this is a big gift for us. We will keep praying for those who donated money for this tractor,” he said.Importantly, after the lynching of Pehlu Khan, the issue had grabbed national headlines, besides various political parties had extended support to the Khan family, but the reality stands that nothing has changed for them.Post lynching, various protest demonstration and candle lights vigils were held at different universities in the capital.The lynching incident occurred on Saturday, April 1, when a group of self-styled cow vigilantes attacked dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in Behror area of Alwar.Khan, hailing from Haryana, died on Monday night, April 3 in hospital.He was travelling in a truck with two cows and two calves, when the attackers accused him of illegally smuggling cows for slaughter. However, the evidence has pointed that he wasn’t carrying cows for slaughter and instead for dairy purposes.