Jaipur, July 24: 32-year-old Rakbar Khan alias Akbar, who was beaten by alleged cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar, died in police custody, the state government confirmed on Tuesday.

State Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, while confirming the "custodial death", said assistant police inspector Mohan Singh was responsible for the delay which led to the victim's demise.

"The police official stopped for tea and then took the victim to the police station. This delay turned out to be critical," Kataria said, adding that an inquiry would be conducted against ASI Mohan Singh and "strict action" would be taken against him.

The lynching of Rakbar was carried out on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, when the victim, along with his accomplice identified as Aslam, was moving on foot with two cows from Alwar's Lalwandi village.

They were intercepted by the cow vigilantes who claimed to the be local "MLA's men", alleged Aslam, who escaped the assault.

Personnel of the closest Ramgarh police station arrived at the spot where the victim was being beaten up at around 1am, after being alerted by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member that a cow smuggler has been apprehended.

On the police's arrival, the attackers reportedly fled. While Rakbar was lying beaten up in mud, two cows were found absconded near him.

A constable was charged to take the bovines to the nearest cow shelter, whereas, the ASI said he took Rakbar to the community healthcare centre, located at a distance of 4km from the lynching site.

The hospital records, however, showed the victim was brought at 4am. On his arrival, it was found that Rakbar had already succumbed to the injuries.

On allegations of whether Rakbar was assaulted again at the Ramgarh police station, Kataria denied saying, "There is no evidence so far which suggests that he was beaten up in custody. But, we have found that he was taken late to the hospital. A probe is underway."

Earlier in the day, Cabinet Minister Jaswant Yadav stoked a controversy saying the lynching incidents will stop only when Muslims will stop eating beef. Similar views were reiterated by RSS leader Indresh Kumar who said the minority community should respect the sentiments of Hindus as well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 06:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).