Man Lynched on Suspicion of Cow Slaughter in Delhi; 5 Held, None Over Murder

The men had allegedly identified themselves as “gau rakshaks”, one of the two FIRs lodged said.

Image for representational purpose only. 

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/ The Quint)

A group of men claiming to be "gau rakshaks" allegedly killed a caretaker of a Delhi farmhouse on suspicion of cow slaughter, the police said on Tuesday, 12 April.

Two First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged with regard to the incident and five people were arrested from the spot. However, those arrested are all accused of cow slaughter and not murder.

The man, identified as Raja Ram and said to have been around 50 years old, was allegedly lynched by a group of 10-15 unidentified people in Dwarka's Chhawla area on Monday. He hailed from Bihar and had worked as the caretaker at the farmhouse for two years.

What Had Happened?

The police said that they had received information regarding cows being slaughtered and their meat being sold in Chhawla.

However, before they reached the spot, a group of men had already attacked the staff in the farmhouse, a police officer said.

(Photo: Screenshot/Twitter)

Apart from Raja Ram, two others were also thrashed. Shankar Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Dwarka, said that Rajaram and the other injured persons were rushed to the hospital.

However, Raja Ram complained of uneasiness after being discharged and was taken to RTRM Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Raja Ram is survived by his wife and their four children.

FIRs Lodged

The officer added that two FIRs have been lodged. While one was lodged against the alleged perpetrators, the other was lodged in connection with the slaughtering of cows.

The five persons arrested have been booked under sections pertaining to the prevention of cow slaughter. However, not a single person has been arrested so far for the murder of Rajaram.

"Relevant section of the law, that is IPC Section 302, has been added and the investigation is being carried out. All our efforts are being done to arrest the alleged miscreants. Further investigation is going on," Chaudhary said.

The DCP added that raids were on to nab the accused in the murder case.

He said, "The incident took place late at night and immediately teams were dispatched when we got a call that cow slaughter is happening and that people were being beaten up. It was dark, and the accused who beat up the men escaped. The investigation is on, and they will be arrested soon."