A Hindu teenager was fatally shot in the head by a gang of ‘cow protectors’ in India after they mistook him for being a Muslim cattle smuggler.
Aryan Mishra, 19, was travelling with his friends in Faridabad, India, when they were spotted by the ‘cow vigilantes’ on the Delhi-Agra National Highway and chased for 18 miles.
When Mishra’s friend finally pulled over in the early hours of August 24, the brutal group of five men exited their vehicle and stormed over to Mishra before shooting him in the head at close range.
Among the five who had chased down the Renault Duster Mishra had been travelling in was reportedly Anil Kaushik, 38, who often patrolled the are as a self-proclaimed ‘gau rakshak’ – or ‘cow protector’.
Kaushik, along with four others – known only as Saurabh, Krishna, Varun, and Adesh, were apprehended four days after the killing and placed in police custody for two days, Superintendent Aman Yadav said in a release.
Aryan Mishra, 19, was killed in India on August 24 after he was mistaken for a Muslim cow smuggler by five Hindu ‘cow vigilantes’
Among the five who had chased down the Renault Duster Mishra had been travelling in was Anil Kaushik, 38, who often patrolled the are as a self-proclaimed ‘gau rakshak’ – or ‘cow protector’. Kaushik, along with four others – known only as Saurabh, Krishna, Varun, and Adesh, were apprehended four days after the killing and placed in police custody for two days, Superintendent Aman Yadav said in a release.
Mishra had been travelling in Faridabad in a red Renault Duster before he and his friends were chased for 18 miles by the gang on the Delhi-Agra National Highway
But police do not expect to file charges until next month.
During questioning, the suspects claimed that on the night of August 23, they had received information about suspected cattle smugglers in Faridabad with two SUVs.
Kaushik then found himself facing Mishra’s devastated father, Siyanand, at the police station.
Siyanand, 49, told The Times that Kaushik told him: ‘I made a big mistake. Your son was a Hindu. I thought he was a Muslim’.
The heartbroken father asked the gang member if it would make the killing alright if his son had been a Muslim.
‘For a cow? Is a Muslim not human?’ he asked.
‘I told him he was a disgrace to Hindus and should rot in jail,’ he added.
According to a report by The Print, Kaushik told Siyanand he regretted killing ‘a brother’ after mistaking the Hindu teen for a Muslim.
The suspects were all ‘cow vigilantes’ – members of a nationwide right-wing Hindu militia, Gau Raksha Dal (GRD or Cow Protection Association), that claims to protect cows – considered holy by many Hindus – from slaughter, mainly by Muslim cattle traders.
Cow slaughter is banned or regulated in most Indian states for religious and cultural reasons as the animals are viewed as ‘holy’ beings within the Hinduism.
But it is rare the vigilantes face any severe consequences for their actions, and it is often the victims and their families who face police scrutiny over whether they were in possession of beef.
Cow slaughter is banned or regulated in most Indian states for religious and cultural reasons
The suspects were all ‘cow vigilantes’ – members of a nationwide right-wing Hindu militia, Gau Raksha Dal (GRD or Cow Protection Association), that claims to protect cows – considered holy by many Hindus – from slaughter, mainly by Muslim cattle traders. Pictured: The GDR logo
Rights groups across the globe, and particularly in India, believe the gangs operate under the patronage and protection of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the Hindu leader claimed power a decade ago
The BJP, however, has denied any link to the cow-related attacks, and in 2016, Modi publicly criticised the vigilantes.
The Gau Raksha Dal has gangs in nearly half of all Indian states, mostly based in the north.
Their logo depicts a cow’s head, flanked by two rifles and a pair of daggers – as vigilantes will patrol the streets armed and on the hunt for suspected cattle smugglers.
The gang members also share information about alleged incidents of cow slaughter or cattle smuggling with local police and are reported to have even joined officers in raids and arrests.
When the news broke of Mishra’s death, the incident grabbed headlines around the country and sent shockwaves through communities across India.
But according to Mishra’s father, the horror was not over his death, but the fact a Hindu had been wrongly targeted.
Just days after Mishra’s death, on August 27, a Muslim migrant worker was beaten to death on suspicion of having eaten beef.
The following day, an elderly Muslim man on a train in Maharashtra was also beaten by Hindu vigilantes who accused him of having beef in his bag.
Mishra’s mother Uma, says she now wants her youngest son’s death to bring an end to cow-linked lynching.
‘They use the cow as an excuse to kill Muslims. My neighbours are Muslims. I don’t want any of them to be bereaved like me,’ she told The Times.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
