Class 12 student shot dead in Faridabad: Did ’cow vigilantes’ kill him, or was it a conspiracy? What we know so far

A class 12 student was allegedly shot dead on August 23 after being chased in a car by a group of five in Haryana's Faridabad on August 23. The five accused, suspected to be cow vigilantes, reportedly claimed they mistook the boy for a cattle smuggler.

Police sources told news agency PTI that the accused claimed during interrogation that on the night of August 23, they had received information about suspected cattle smugglers driving two SUVs and doing recce in the city.

"They mistook the victim, Aryan Mishra, and his friends, Shanky and Harshit, for cattle smugglers and followed their car for about 30 kilometres near the Gadhpuri toll on the Delhi-Agra National Highway," the sources said.

Sources added that the accused told the police that when they asked the boy and his friends to stop their car, the driver accelerated, following which they opened fire. "Mishra was killed on the spot near the Gadhpuri toll in Palwal," they said.

Superintendent of Police (Crime) Aman Yadav said on Tuesday that the five accused – Saurabh, Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna and Adesh – were arrested on August 28 and remanded in police custody for two days.

The SP said all the accused have been sent to judicial custody after the police remand expired. He added that the illegal weapon and the car used in the crime have been recovered.

A police officer said they were also investigating if it was a case of old enmity.

The victim's father claimed that one of the acquaintances who had accompanied his son was part of a conspiracy to get him killed, news agency PTI reported.

"The weapon will be sent for forensic examination and the police are trying to ascertain the veracity of statements given by the accused," the police statement said, "without mentioning if they were cow vigilantes and the reason behind the crime".

(With inputs from PTI)