One of the postmortem examiners of the Alwar lynching victim, Pehlu Khan, said the injuries the 55-year-old sustained during the attack were the main cause of his death. Dr Pushpendra Jain told The Indian Express that the shock from a cardiac arrest was a secondary cause. The medical examiner’s statements follow Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Gyandev Ahuja’s comments attributing Khan’s death to “a heart attack or brain haemorrhage triggered by fear”, The Times of India reported.

“Prima facie it appears that Pehlu Khan had died from internal injuries and heavy bleeding. The medical team has also asked for a viscera analysis before filing the final report,” Superintendent of Police Rahul Prakash told The Times of India. “The ribs of the deceased were badly broken and there were internal injuries on lungs. Clots were also found near his heart,” Jain said.

Prior to the release of the postmortem report, consultant anesthesiologist Dr Akhil Kumar Saxena, who works at the hospital where Khan was treated, had also said that he had died of a cardiac arrest, The Indian Express reported. The accused were produced in court on Thursday and police said murder had been added to the list of charges against them.

The victim Pehlu Khan, believed to be a dairy farmer, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. After the assault, none of the attackers were arrested. Instead, the police booked the victims on charges of cow smuggling. Three people from the mob – seen in a video of the attack that went viral – were arrested on Wednesday night. The accused are members of a cow vigilante group, affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.