In Faridabad, Haryana, a 19-year-old Class 12 student was shot and killed after being misidentified as a cattle smuggler. Before killing the victim, the accused drove 25 km in pursuit of his automobile. In relation to the incident, five persons were taken into custody.
On August 23, at around midnight, the victim, Aryan Mishra, went out for noodles in a Duster automobile with his pals Harshit and Shanky. During questioning, the accused—who were recognised as cow vigilantes—told police that they had heard rumours that certain cattle traffickers were using Duster and Fortuner SUVs to spy on cattle in the city.
The accused also stated that the supposed livestock smugglers were contacting their friends to arrange for the pickup of cows from remote locations in a truck.
When the accused, who were also in a car, saw the Duster, they gave it the signal to stop. Aryan was in the Duster with Harshit behind the wheel. Shanky was sitting in the back of the car with two women.
According to the police, a case had been filed against Shanky after Harshit and Shanky got into a fight with a man recently. Because of a past argument, the people inside the Duster thought it was the same man who was approaching them as the accused motioned for them to halt. In a bid to escape, they sped away.
Now that they were certain the people inside the Duster were smugglers of cattle, the vigilantes started pursuing them. At the Palwal toll plaza, Harshit drove the car for almost 25 km before smashing through the barrier. The defendant then started shooting at the Duster, striking Aryan, who was seated shotgun, with a bullet that passed through the rear glass.
Harshit stopped when Aryan was shot, but the assailants moved closer and shot Aryan again in the chest, killing him.
Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurav were the suspects that were taken into custody, according to a Faridabad Police official.
At first, according to the police, the accused attempted to deceive them by saying they had tossed the murder weapon into a canal. But later on, the weapon was found in Anil’s home.
The incident occurred a few days after cow vigilantes in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri area killed a migrant worker who they believed had consumed beef by beating him to death. Seven persons were detained by police in connection with the homicide.
