Teen killed after car chase in Faridabad: Accused is complainant in one case, witness in other

On the night of August 23, Mishra had gone for a drive with his friends and their family members in their Renault Duster car. Police said the accused saw the SUV speeding and assumed they were smuggling cattle. After a 30-km chase, the accused then opened fire, killing Aryan. Police caught five men, including Kaushik, over the course of a week.

The Faridabad Police Crime Branch maintained that they were yet to ascertain if Kaushik was a cow vigilante. Faridabad Police spokesperson Yashpal said Tuesday it had not come to their notice that the accused were in touch with police.

FIRs registered in the district since 2023, however, show that Kaushik has been in touch with police.

In an FIR registered in February this year on the complaint of a head constable, Kaushik is mentioned as one of the people following the vehicle of the alleged cow smugglers. “We received information that 7-8 individuals in a red Eicher truck have loaded 5-7 cows, with their legs and mouths tied with ropes, for cow slaughter,” the FIR states. The complainant says that Anil Kaushik and his companions were following the vehicle and informed police that the accused were allegedly pelting stones at their vehicles. Kaushik asked police to set up a blockade in the area so that the accused could be apprehended, the FIR says.

The FIR is under IPC sections 147 and 149 (rioting), 307 (attempt to murder), and sections 5/13 (2), 17 of the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015, and sections 11-59-60 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

In another FIR from Mujesar police station, registered in December 2023, filed on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Vijender Singh,  Kaushik is listed as the police “witness”. “… a reliable informant met me and reported that some unidentified individuals were using intoxicating injections on some cattle for the purpose of smuggling them through the forest route… I informed the passersby about the incident and asked them to act as witnesses. One person, Anil Kaushik, agreed to be a witness,” states the FIR.

“Along with (police) officers and the public witness Anil Kaushik, I proceeded in the government vehicle towards the forest path adjacent to Madalpur Canal and we set up a blockade,” he said.

The FIR was registered under section 13(2) of the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015.

An FIR wherein Anil Kaushik’s organisation appears was filed by a member of Gau Raksha Dal Faridabad, Pankaj Jain at the Palla police station on June 5. It states that a few unknown persons had attacked cows with sharp weapons. “I reached the spot and found that four cows and a calf had been severely injured with sharp weapons in Basantpur. We immediately arranged for an ambulance from “Live For Nation” and “Astha Animal Slaughter House”, an NGO, and sent the injured cows to the hospital for treatment,” Jain stated. The FIR is under section 11-59-60 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Section 429 of the IPC .

In an FIR at Saran police station on August 22, a day before Mishra was killed, the complainant is Kaushik himself. The FIR states that on August 22, Kaushik 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,” he said in his complaint.

While the police PRO said that he was not aware of the incidents, the crime branch officials including ACP Aman Yadav and DCP Hemendra Kumar Meena did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.