The recent killing of Class 12 student Aryan Mishra on Aug 24 has sparked renewed scrutiny of armed cow vigilante groups, particularly focusing on Anil Kaushik and his associates.
Mishra was chased 29 kilometers from Faridabad to Palwal and shot at close range by Kaushik and his group. Investigators suggest that a potentially misleading tip-off may have led to Kaushik’s actions.
It appears that Kaushik may have acted on incorrect information provided by rivals of one of Aryan’s companions that night.
On the night of the incident, Aryan was at Vardhaman Mall with his landlady, her sons Harshit and Shanky, and their neighbor Kriti Sharma.
Kaushik, the prime suspect in the shooting, is known for his active role as a cow vigilante, patrolling highways around Delhi and Gurgaon.
He is also a member of the official cow protection task force in Faridabad. Since May 2024, he has been involved in multiple cases under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act (HGSSA) for alleged cattle smuggling and slaughter.
He is listed as a police witness in another cow smuggling case from December 2023.
Despite official claims that cow vigilantes are only supposed to act as informers and not enforce the law or carry firearms, the FIRs indicate that Kaushik has overstepped these boundaries.
He has been actively involved in pursuing and intercepting vehicles deemed "suspicious," a role typically reserved for the police. Additionally, cow vigilantes are not authorized to carry weapons, yet Kaushik has been found to do so.
Kaushik is not an isolated case; other cow vigilantes, such as Monu Manesar, have similarly engaged in chasing and intercepting vehicles.
Manesar was arrested by Rajasthan police in connection with the murders of Nasir and Junaid, two men from Bharatpur, allegedly by cow vigilantes in February of 2023.
These incidents, including the death of Waris Khan from Nuh, who died after an accident while being chased by vigilantes, highlight the recurring issue of vigilante violence.
On the morning of Aug 24, Kaushik and four other vigilantes followed Aryan’s vehicle, a Duster, based on an erroneous tip-off suggesting the presence of beef in the car.
They pursued the vehicle for 29 kilometers from Faridabad to Palwal along the Agra highway. During the chase, they fired a shot at the Duster.
After the vehicle, which had an injured Aryan inside, came to a halt, Kaushik and his group fired again, this time killing Aryan at point-blank range.
On Sep 4, Puran Yadav, the Vice-chairman of Haryana Gau Seva Aayog, confirmed that Kaushik has been a member of the Faridabad cow protection task force for the past year.
"They have a mandate to pass on information about cow slaughter and smuggling to police," said Yadav, adding the investigation about what happened on Aug 24 would bring out the truth.
