"Ek zinda laash hoon mein (I am a living corpse)," laments Jashodevi, as she breaks down outside the farmhouse premises in Delhi's Chhawla where she and her husband Rajaram would work.
On the intervening night of 10 and 11 April, Rajaram, the caretaker of the farmhouse, was allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow slaughter by a group of men claiming to be "gau rakshaks", the Delhi Police said on 12 April.
'Sold Milk to Neighbouring Houses, Have Never Killed Cows for Meat'
Speaking to The Quint, Jashodevi recounts, "That evening, after having my dinner, I was watching TV and then I fell asleep. By the time I woke up, I couldn't see my husband around. Instead, there were police personnel at home."
Distraught at allegations of cow slaughter being levelled against her husband, Jashodevi said, "We have six to seven cows, I sold the milk from the cows to houses in the neighbourhood."
She claims that neither she nor her husband had ever killed a cow for its meat. "Never have we done something like that. I do gau seva myself. If we did something like this, who would have let us stay here?"
Rajaram belonged to the Yadav community. "We are Hindus, we never did any of this (cow slaughter)", Jashodevi stressed.
Jashodevi says that she and Rajaram had been working at the farmhouse for the past two years. They stayed on the premises with their four children. Their eldest child, a daughter, is still in school and is around 18 years old, says Jashodevi.
All Arrests So Far in Relation to Alleged Cow Slaughter, No 'Gau Rakshaks' Among Those Arrested
The Delhi Police have said that they had received information regarding cows being slaughtered and their meat being sold in Chhawla. However, they claim that before they reached the spot, a group of men had already attacked the staff in the farmhouse.
Apart from Rajaram, two others were also allegedly thrashed. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dwarka, Shankar Choudhary, said that Rajaram and the other injured persons were rushed to hospital. He was apparently feeling unwell after getting discharged from there, and was then taken to Delhi's Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead.
The Delhi Police have stated that two First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged with regard to the incident. While one was lodged against the alleged attackers, the other was lodged in connection with the alleged slaughtering of cows.
Five individuals have been arrested so far. All five of them 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.
DCP Dwarka Shankar Choudhary said, "Raids are on to nab the accused in the murder case. 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. Investigation is on, and they will be arrested soon."
A senior police official also told The Quint that the other men with Rajaram who were beaten up did not work at the farmhouse.
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