In a tragic case of mistaken identity, a 12th-grade student from Faridabad, Haryana, was shot dead by a group of cow vigilantes on the Delhi-Agra Highway near Gadhpuri, Haryana. The incident, which took place on August 23, saw the vigilantes chase Aryan Mishra's car for about 30 kilometers.
The suspects involved in the shooting—identified as Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh—are now in police custody. They had mistakenly believed that Mishra was involved in cow smuggling. The vigilantes, armed with illegal weapons, pursued Mishra’s car after receiving incorrect information about cattle smugglers using a Renault Duster and Toyota Fortuner.
According to police sources, the vigilantes first tried to stop Mishra’s vehicle at Patel Chowk. Fearing they were being pursued by a rival of one of their friends, Mishra and his friends attempted to escape. The vigilantes then fired at the car, hitting Mishra in the neck and chest. After realizing they had targeted the wrong person when they saw two women in the car, the vigilantes fled the scene. Mishra was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries the following day.
In related news, Haryana police have arrested the eighth suspect in the Dadri lynching case, which occurred on August 31. The suspect is accused of killing a migrant worker from West Bengal over suspicions of beef consumption. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani has suggested that the Dadri incident may have been orchestrated to incite communal tension ahead of the state assembly elections.
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