Man lynched on suspicion of cow slaughter: Police
New Delhi: A middle-aged man, Rajaram, a caretaker in a Delhi farmhouse (near Chhawla) was in the wee hours of Tuesday lynched and two other people were seriously injured after they were attacked by a mob of 10-15 men claiming to be "gau rakshaks", alleging that they had slaughtered cows, the police said, adding that they have registered two cases in the matter -- one against the victims for allegations of cow slaughter and another against their attackers.
The police have said that they have arrested five people in the case related to the cow slaughter allegations, which has been registered under 429, 120, 120B and 34 of the IPC and sections 12 and 13 of the Delhi Agriculture Prevention Act and section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
However, the Delhi Police said that they are yet to make an arrest in the lynching of Rajaram, the case for which has been registered under Sections 323, 337, 341, 506, 34 and 302 of the IPC. Officials said that their investigation is underway and that an all-out effort is being made to the accused in this murder case.
Rajaram (40), who worked as a caretaker at the farmhouse in Dwarka's Chhawla area, was killed in the incident on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, the police said.
Information was received that a group of men were slaughtering cows and selling the meat in the area, police said.
A team was rushed to the spot, but before it could reach there, 10-15 unidentified men, claiming to be 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors), reached the farmhouse and attacked those inside it, a senior police officer said.
The police have substantiated the cow slaughter allegations by noting that one of the people injured in the vigilantism had admitted to it. In the FIR, the police said that this man, a fruitseller by profession, had said that he and his friends were often called by Rajaram to slaughter cows that he used to bring from his native place.
They alleged used to cut the meat into pieces and package it for further sale.
On Monday, when the caretaker along with some others was allegedly "working" inside the farmhouse, some unidentified men barged in and started thrashing them, police said quoting the FIR.
Rajaram and the others were taken to a hospital, but he succumbed to injuries there, the officer said.
"Our teams have collected a few samples from the spot and sent it for examination. Two separate cases have also been registered in the matter and five men were arrested from the spot," the officer said.
Rajaram's wife Jhaso Devi, sitting on a wooden cot outside the two-storey dilapidated farmhouse, said her husband was innocent and used to earn Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per month as a caretaker.
Hailing from Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, Rajaram has four children and was living with his family at the farmhouse owned by a local doctor for last two years.
"He had been sick for over a year owing to liver-related ailment for which he was seeking treatment. He had never indulged in cow slaughter or any illegal activities," Devi said, adding that their 16-year-old son is now the sole breadwinner of the family and had recently started working at a cow shelter.
