An Alwar court has accepted a police plea seeking to investigate further a cow smuggling case against a truck operator and the two sons of Pehlu Khan, who was lynched two years ago for allegedly transporting the animals illegally.

While the Rajasthan police had registered a case of murder soon after the Haryana resident’s death in April 2017, it was also investigating the cow smuggling charge.

The Congress government in Rajasthan faced criticism recently after a chargesheet was filed against Pehlu’s sons — Irshad, 25, and Aarif, 22 — and truck operator Khan Mohammad.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot had allowed the police to reinvestigate aspects of the cow smuggling case, registered when the BJP government was in power.

The police argued that Pehlu’s sons had said they were going to sell the animals in Alwar, contrary to the investigation earlier, which suggested that the cows were being taken to another state.

The three had been charged under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, which allows transportation of cattle only with permission from the administration.