Faridabad (Haryana): The five accused arrested in the killing of a 19-year-old youth from Haryana's Faridabad who was shot dead after being mistaken for a cow smuggler on the Delhi-Agra Highway, have been sent to judicial custody after being presented in a city court.
The five -- Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh -- are suspected to be members of a cow vigilante group accused of chasing, detaining, and manhandling those suspected of carrying cows on the Delhi-Haryana highways and peripheral roads.
On August 23, they chased a Duster car for over 20 kilometres and fired at its occupants mistaking them for cow smugglers. Victim Aryan who was in the passenger seat was shot in the neck during the chase, and when the car stopped, the assailants again shot him in the chest.
Police identified the accused through the CCTV installed at Gadpuri toll on the highway which had captured the accused chasing the car. On the night of the incident, the accused had received a tip-off that some cattle smugglers in Fortuner and Duster cars were doing recce in the city picking animals and taking them away in containers.
Searching for such vehicles, they saw a Duster car at Patel Chowk in Faridabad. The accused asked them to stop but the driver of the Duster wheeled away following which, the accused started chasing the car.
Apart from Aryan, the other occupants in the car included two of his friends identified as Harshit and Shanky, who had existing criminal charges against them. Apart from them, two women were also in the car.
Believing they were either being ambushed or pursued by plainclothes police, Harshit and Shanky refused to stop their vehicle and accelerated. This heightened the suspicion of the other party, who assumed they were involved in cow smuggling. A chase ensued, with the assailants firing upon those in the Duster. Upon reaching the Gadpuri toll plaza, the accused again attempted to halt the vehicle and opened fire.
In the firing, the bullet broke the rear glass of the car and hit the neck of Aryan Mishra, who was sitting on the seat next to the driver. The accused shot Aryan again, this time on his chest when the car stopped. Later, they saw two women inside and fled realising that they had shot the wrong person. Aryan was rushed to a nearby hospital but died a day later.
A case was registered following the complaint by Aryan's father. The Crime Branch investigating the case arrested the culprits from their house. The police produced the accused in the court which sent them on a two-day remand which is expiring today.
"A boy named Aryan Mishra was shot dead. An FIR was lodged in the matter under relevant sections. 5 days after the incident, the crime branch's team arrested 5 accused. The vehicle and weapon used in the crime have been recovered. They have been sent to the police custody. The accused and the deceased were not familiar with each other. The accused committed the crime out of suspicion. Further investigation is underway..." said Aman Yadav, ACP Crime, Faridabad.
The incident comes days after Sabir Malik, a migrant worker from West Bengal was allegedly beaten to death by members of a cow vigilante group in Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana over suspicion that he had consumed beef. Police arrested five men including two minor boys from a cow vigilante group in connection with the murder.
Haryana has seen a rise in lynching and mob violence by cow vigilantes in the last ten years. In 2023, two men from Rajasthan's Bharatpur district were allegedly abducted and burnt to death in a car in Haryana. The charred bodies of the victims - Nasir and Junaid - were found inside a burnt vehicle near Loharu town in Haryana's Bhiwani district, triggering nationwide outrage.
