The caretaker of a farmhouse in Delhi’s Dwarka area was allegedly beaten to death and six others were injured after a group of 10 to 15 men attacked them on suspicion of cow slaughter, the police said on Tuesday, PTI reported.
The deceased was identified as 40-year-old Rajaram, He was allegedly thrashed at a farmhouse in Dwarka’s Chhawla locality on Monday. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Around 2 am on Monday, the police had received a tip-off about a group of men being involved in killing cows at a farmhouse in the Chhawla area, The Indian Express reported. But before officials could reach the farmhouse, the police control room got information over a call about the attack.
“When we reached the spot, we found the men [suspected of cow slaughter] were being attacked,” an unidentified police officer told The Indian Express. “The staff [police] intervened and all injured persons were taken to nearby hospitals.”
Two first information reports were filed on separate complaints filed in the matter – one on the attacks by one of the injured men, Md Shanu, and the other on allegations of cow slaughter, by some of the locals.
Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police Shankar Chaudhary said that no arrests were made until Tuesday morning in the murder and assault case. However, five men have been arrested based on the cow slaughter allegation, PTI reported.
“One of the accused, Shanu, alleged they were thrashed by miscreants,” Chaudhary was quoted by the news agency. “Rajaram, who was a suspect in the cow slaughtering case, was taken to a hospital but felt unwell. He was rushed to Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital, where he died. We are investigating the matter and will arrest the miscreants.”
One of the injured men told the police that Rajaram often called him and his friends to slaughter cows, PTI reported. On Monday, when Rajaram and others were working at the farmhouse, some unidentified men, claiming to be cow vigilantes, thrashed them, the police told PTI.
“Our teams have collected a few samples from the spot and sent them for examination,” a senior officer said.
Meanwhile, Rajaram’s family denied allegations of cow slaughter and said that he was attacked for “no reason” by the locals. His wife Jhaso Devi said the family had moved to Chhawla two years ago and were working for Punjab-based doctor at the farmhouse, The Indian Express reported.
Devi said she was asleep when Rajaram left after receiving a call on Monday night.
“We don’t know what happened,” she was quoted as saying, The Indian Express reported. “A group of men picked him up and beat him to death. These men are spreading false rumors about my husband. We have eight cows and hens… we sell milk to half of the villagers. Why would we kill cows?”
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