The first information report registered on the lynching of a 40-year-old man in Delhi on suspicion of cow slaughter stated that the attackers managed to leave without identifying themselves even as police had reached the spot during the assault, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.
The victim, Rajaram, was thrashed by a group of 10 to 15 men on Monday night at a farmhouse in Dwarka area, where he used to work as a caretaker and sell milk to the locals. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Six of his associates, who were also beaten up, are undergoing treatment.
Two first information reports were filed in connection to the incident – one on the assault and the other on allegations of cow slaughter. Nobody has been held in the assault case, while five men have been arrested for allegedly slaughtering cows.
Around 2 am on Monday, the police had received a tip-off about a group of men being involved in killing cows at the farmhouse in Dwarka’s Chhawla area. But before officials could reach the farmhouse, the police control room got information over a call about the attack.
An unidentified senior police officer told The Indian Express that 10 to 15 men were present at the crime spot when the personnel arrived. However, according to the FIR registered on allegations of cow slaughter, they left the spot without identifying themselves.
“There were eight cows and two calves at the spot,” the FIR accessed by The Indian Express reportedly stated. “These were taken to a safe gaushala [cow shed]. After this, the members of ‘Gau Rakshak Dal’ [cow vigilante team] left without giving their names…”
A police officer told the newspaper that they prioritised taking Rajaram and the other injured men to the hospital over investigating the matter.
“The team helped the injured persons and took them to RTRM [hospital],” the officer said on conditions of anonymity. “We also collected cow carcasses. Meanwhile, the accused, who were in larger numbers, left.”
The FIR also mentioned that the police had found severed heads and other remains of two to three cows near the gate of the farmhouse.
Animal activist Sumant Ojha, who had informed the police about the alleged cow slaughter, said that the police took nearly 45 minutes to reach the spot after he made the call as he could not tell them the exact location of the farmhouse, The Times of India reported.
“Reporting a crime is our job, not committing one,” he said. “Killing cows is a crime, but thrashing the men involved isn’t right either. I later heard on the news that one of them, Rajaram, had died.”
Ojha said that when he reached the farmhouse, some men were already standing outside its gate. The men told him that they would not allow those involved in cow slaughtering to escape.
“When the police arrived, we went in and found cow carcasses,” Ojha said. “We also found some people who were visibly beaten up and had injuries. Those who had thrashed them were also present.”
Meanwhile, Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police Shankar Choudhary told The Indian Express that teams have been sent to various parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region to arrest those involved in Rajaram’s killing.
This article first appeared on scroll.in
