19-yr-old shot dead by cow vigilantes after 30-km car chase in Haryana, 5 arrested

In his complaint, Aryan’s father, Siya Nand Mishra, said his son had gone for a drive with his friends Harshit Gulati and Sagar (Shanky) Gulati – both brothers. They were reportedly accompanied by Harshit and Sagar’s mother, Sujata Gulati, and a neighbour, Kirti Sharma. The vehicle, a Renault Duster, was owned by Harshit. Aryan and his family are the Gulatis’ tenants.

According to police, the accused, who were in a Maruti Swift, claimed to have chased the speeding Duster as they mistook the occupants for cattle smugglers. They chased the vehicle from Faridabad Sector 21 to Baghola, and also fired shots.

Police said an unrelated case of attempted murder had been registered against Sagar Gulati recently. “Those in the Duster thought it was the rival group in the Swift and tried to flee,” said ACP Crime, Aman Yadav.

Police said the shots were fired by Kaushik, who has two assault cases against him. “Aryan was first hit in the back of his head. As the Duster stopped, the accused approached them and shot again, hitting Aryan on his arm. But when they saw that it was a family they were chasing, the accused fled,” Yadav said.

In his complaint filed on August 24, Aryan’s father said: “At 3.30 am, Harshit’s father came to our house and said there was an emergency, and we needed to go to Palwal urgently. My other son (Ajay) left with him on a scooty. About 10 minutes later, Ajay returned and informed me that I should also go. Both of us reached BK Hospital where Harshit’s father told us to proceed to SSB Hospital, as Aryan was being brought there. When I asked him what had happened to Aryan, he said he had been shot…Two bullets hit my son Aryan.”

Acting on his complaint, the police first tracked the rival group linked to the case against Sagar Gulati. “We interrogated them, but they were unaware of the incident and did not seem to be involved,” said a Crime Branch officer.

“Since the chase happened on a highway, there was no checkpoint, chowki or patrol vehicles. When they breached the Palwal toll plaza, the Palwal police were intimated and reached the spot,” said a senior police officer. The Swift vehicle didn’t have a numberplate, said police.

“We scanned hundreds of CCTV cameras and checked mobile intelligence. We tracked five cellphone numbers in the area, besides the victims’ phones, and traced them to the accused,” said another officer.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, invoking charges of murder and rioting, among others, and sections of the Arms Act.

“We have not found any instances of this group chasing other vehicles,” said a senior police officer.

However, police records showed that a day before the incident, an FIR was registered at the Saran police station on August 22, based on a complaint of cattle smuggling filed by Kaushik, who identified himself as “a member of the Gau Seva Aayog and a permanent member of the Live For Nation organisation”.

In his complaint, Kaushik said that in the early hours of August 22, he received information that some people near Pyali Chowk were loading cows in a pickup truck. “As soon as I received this information and a video of the incident, I, along with my team, reached Janta Colony near Pyali Chowk. However, three-four accused had already fled with two-three cows in a pickup truck. I made all efforts to locate them, but the accused escaped with the cows. I am confident that the accused have taken the cows for slaughter. I will present the video evidence to you separately on a pen drive, but, for now, I have shared the video of the incident,” he said in his complaint.

Kaushik’s mother, Rajesh Devi, said he would often get calls from people seeking assistance for “injured” animals. “He would go on chases to save these animals. Most of the time, police would accompany him, but this time, he didn’t inform them. It was a mistake. Usually, Saran, Mujesar, Dhauj and other police stations would inform him or were informed before such incidents,” she claimed.

Yashpal Singh, Faridabad Police spokesperson, however, said it had not come to their notice that the accused were in touch with the police.

Meanwhile, Aryan’s brother, Ajay, said they had planned a candlelight march, but “police said it would lead to an inflammatory situation”. He put up posts on social media seeking “justice for Aryan”. “About 500 people have reached out,” he said.

At his home, his mother, Uma, showed a medal and a trophy that Aryan had won at a weightlifting championship recently. “He was the first one to bring home any laurel,” she said.