The victim, Aryan Mishra, was shot dead when he was travelling in a car with friends
A Class 12 student in Haryana's Faridabad was allegedly chased in a car and killed by cow vigilantes who mistook him for a cattle smuggler. Five members of a cow vigilante group have been arrested for the August 23 attack, police said on Monday.
The arrested men, Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh, allegedly chased Aryan Mishra and his friends, Shanky, Harshit, and two girls, for about 30 kilometers on the Delhi-Agra National Highway.
According to sources, the cow vigilantes had received information that some cattle smugglers in Renault Duster and Toyota Fortuner cars were recceing the city and picking up cattle.
While searching for the cattle smugglers, the group spotted a Duster car and asked Aryan's friend Harshit, who was driving, to stop. However, he didn't because their friend Shanky had a feud with somebody and they thought they had sent goons to kill them.
As Aryan and his friends didn't stop, the accused men went after the car. Catching up, they opened fire at the car and a bullet hit Aryan - who was in the passenger seat - near the neck. He was shot again when his friend finally stopped the car, and the shooters thought they might fire back at them.
The second bullet hit Aryan in the chest.
When the attackers saw two girls in the car, they realised they may have shot the wrong person, and fled.
Aryan was rushed to a hospital, where he died a day later.
The weapon used in the incident was also illegal, sources said. The five men are currently in police custody and further investigation is underway.