GURGAON: Police have invoked the section of lynching — which was introduced in India's criminal laws this year after Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) replaced IPC in July — in its charge sheet on the murder of a 20-year-old student who was chased and shot dead by cow vigilantes this Aug.
Aryan Mishra, a resident of Faridabad's NIT-5, was in a Duster that was chased by the vigilantes, who were in a Swift with a ‘lal-neela' beacon, for 29km, according to the charge sheet.

Anil Kaushik, the main accused who was at the time a member of Faridabad's cow protection task force (Haryana has one in each district), and his four accomplices had claimed they were acting on a tip-off that the Duster was being used for cattle smuggling.
The crime branch filed the charge sheet before a judicial magistrate's court in Faridabad, ACP Aman Yadav confirmed.
The 600-page document names Kaushik, Adesh Kumar, Varun, Saurav Sharma and Krishan and details statements of 30 witnesses, including Aryan's co-passengers, in the car.
In the FIR registered after the incident, the five accused were booked under Section 103(1) (murder) of BNS. The charge sheet replaces this with BNS Section 103(2), which specifies punishment for a group of five or more that commit murder on the grounds of "race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other similar ground".
IPC did not have a specific section for lynchings. This will be among the earliest cases in the country to see BNS 103(2) being invoked.
Faridabad police also added two more offences against the accused in the charge sheet – BNS Section 61(2A) for criminal conspiracy, and 238 (2) for intentionally concealing evidence.
Other FIR charges for unlawful assembly and rioting with deadly weapons along with provisions of the Arms Act were retained in the charge sheet.
According to the investigation, Aryan left his house in Faridabad's NIT-5 around 1.30am on Aug 24 to go out to eat with his landlady Sujata Gulati, her sons Harshit and Sagar alias Shanky, and their neighbour Kriti Sharma.
The Duster was being driven by Harshit when Kaushik and his associates started chasing them.
"The group went out to have noodles that night, but before they could reach the eatery, the Swift tried to intercept them in Sector 21C. Thinking it was police who wanted to arrest Shanky, wanted in an assault case, Harshit hit the pedal and the accused started chasing them," a crime branch officer told TOI.
They tailed the group till Palwal on Delhi-Agra highway and fired at the car. Aryan, who was in the passenger seat, was hit by two bullets.
"Anil Kaushik fired six to seven rounds during the chase. The first two were fired near Badkhal flyover. Two or three more rounds were fired before Gadpuri toll plaza, and another round was fired after the toll barricade," a police source said, citing the accused's statements given during their interrogation.
The source said a bullet hit Aryan on his head near the left ear. "Harshit stopped the car on noticing that Aryan was bleeding. The vigilantes stopped too. Anil Kaushik said he got out of the Swift and again fired at Aryan because he didn't step out of the Duster. Anil suspected that someone in the Duster may retaliate. This bullet hit Aryan on his chest," the source said.
It was only when the two women in the Duster started screaming that the vigilantes realised they had chased the wrong group, the officer said, adding that they got back into the Swift and drove off.
Aryan was taken to SSB Hospital in Faridabad, where he succumbed to his injuries. Police were alerted and the accused were arrested on Aug 29 and 30.
Asked why Kaushik shot Aryan from close range, the crime branch officer cited above said it appeared he "wanted to stop smugglers" and "gain popularity" among cow vigilantes, but "things didn't go as per his plan".
The gun allegedly used by Kaushik to kill Aryan was seized, but its supplier is yet to be traced. Investigators said they could not recover the beacon mounted on the Swift because the accused had destroyed it by the time they were held.