Police said they got information that a group of men was slaughtering cows (Representational)
A caretaker in a Delhi farmhouse was beaten to death and six people were injured after a group of 10-15 men, claiming to be cow vigilantes, attacked them on suspicion that they were slaughtering cows, the police said on Tuesday.
Rajaram, 40, was assaulted in the farmhouse in Dwarka's Chhawla. He died of injuries at a hospital on Monday, the police said.
Two first information reports, or FIRs, have been filed based on separate complaints by one of the injured men and some locals.
Five men have been arrested for alleged cow slaughter. No arrest has been made in the murder and assault case.
Rajaram's family denied the allegation of cow slaughter and claimed he was targeted "by locals" for no reason. However, according to the FIR, one of the injured people from Rajaram's side said they were called by him to slaughter cows.
"My husband is innocent. All he did for earning extra is selling cow milk to nearby villagers and run a battery rickshaw which was taken on rent," Rajaram's wife said.
The police said they got information that a group of men was slaughtering cows and selling the meat in the area on the night of April 10 and 11.
A team was rushed to the spot, but before it could reach there, 10-15 unidentified people, claiming to be "gau rakshaks" or cow vigilantes, reached the farmhouse and attacked those inside it, a senior police officer said.
"When we reached the spot, we found the men were being attacked. The staff intervened and all the injured people were taken to nearby hospitals," the office said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Shankar Chaudhary said an incident of cow slaughter was reported and the team arrested five people involved in the matter.
"Later, one of the accused, Shanu, alleged they were thrashed by miscreants. Rajaram, who was a suspect in the cow slaughtering case, was taken to a hospital but felt unwell. He was rushed to RTRM hospital, where he died. We are investigating the matter and will arrest the miscreants," Mr Chaudhary said.
In the first FIR, one of the injured, a fruit-seller, alleged he and his friends were often called by Rajaram to slaughter cows, which he used to bring from his village.
He said that after slaughtering the cows, they used to cut them into pieces and then package the meat for sale. The fruit-seller claimed he worked for Rajaram and was paid around Rs 500-1,000.
On Monday, when the caretaker along with some others were working inside the farmhouse, some unidentified men barged in and started thrashing them, the police said, quoting the FIR.
"Our teams have collected a few samples from the spot and sent them for examination. Two separate cases have also been filed in the matter and five men were arrested from the spot in a case of suspected cow slaughtering," the officer said.