Bharatpur: The Rajasthan police on Sunday named 21 people, including Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar, in the abduction and murder of two Muslim men, whose remains were found inside a charred vehicle in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on February 16, a senior officer said.
The investigation against all 21 suspects is being carried under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Bharatpur superintendent of police (SP) Shyam Singh said.
“We have named 21 accused in the FIR [first information report], including Monu Manesar, for abduction, assault and murder of Junaid and Nasir,” Singh said. “All of them are accused of destroying evidence and providing financial help and shelter as well as guiding others to abscond.”
The charred bodies of Junaid and Nasir — both cousins — were found inside the four-wheeler in Bhiwani district on February 16. The families of the deceased, both residents of Ghatmika village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, alleged that they were abducted, beaten and murdered by members of the Bajrang Dal, a claim rejected by the Hindu right-wing outfit.
Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, who heads the cow vigilante wing of Bajrang Dal in Haryana, had denied his involvement in the case. Two “Hindu mahapanchayats” in Haryana had also backed his claim.
“We will detain Monu Manesar for questioning soon,” said the SP.
Hours after being named in the FIR, Monu Manesar said he would appear before the police in Bharatpur whenever called upon for the ongoing investigation in the case.
“I am ready to give my complete cooperation in the case. However, I am nowhere involved in the case. Last time, I had sent Bharatpur police a letter through court for detailed investigation in the case regarding my non-involvement in the case. I had provided them supporting evidence too,” he said.
The suspects arrested in the case so far by police have also denied his involvement, he claimed. “With arrest of more suspects, it will become clear that I have no role in the killings,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ajit Singh, Gurugram district president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the parent organisation of Bajrang Dal, alleged that Monu Manesar was being targeted as part of a “politically motivated” step of the Rajasthan government as the western state will go to assembly elections later this year.
“Rajasthan police had earlier said they have not found involvement of Monu in the case and now they are behind him again,” Singh said. “They just want to appease a section of society. If needed, VHP will launch an agitation in Haryana, Rajasthan and other states too for targeting innocent in the murder case with political gains.”
On February 22, Bharatpur police had named nine accused Rinku Saini, Anil and Srikant Pandit from Nuh, Kalu Jaat from Kaithal, Kishore from Karnal, Monu and Gogi from Bhiwani, Vikas and Sashikant Sharma from Jind. Monu Manesar’s name was not on the list.
That organised gangs of cow vigilantes continue to operate with ease is a scathing indictment of the law and order apparatus in several areas of the country. The vigilantes proudly post social media videos of dangerous high-speed chases they routinely undertake on highways to nab cattle transporters, often shooting at tyres of trucks, endangering the safety of road users and the livestock being ferried, and in worse cases simply executing people in cold blood. None of this would be possible without political patronage and the police looking the other way. In fact, in many cases, police have admitted to taking “help” from such vigilantes to catch “cow smugglers”, practically giving these gangs the status of a parallel arm of the state machinery without any accountability.
So far, three accused have been arrested in the Bhiwani case, which drew widespread media attention. The Rajasthan police arrested Monu Rana and Gogi on April 14 while Rinku Saini, a resident of Ferozepur Jhirka (Haryana), on February 17.
On May 16, police filed a charge sheet against the three arrested accused in Kaman’s court.
“They have been charged under sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 365 (kidnapping), 367 (grievously hurt after kidnapping), 368 (wrongfully keeping in confinement), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) among others of Indian Penal Code,” said the SP.
On Sunday, the police named 21 accused in the case— Mohit alias Monu Manesar from Gurugram; Lokesh Singla from Nuh; Vishal Jebli from Charkhi Dadri; Badal from Nuh; Shivam from Karnal; Tushar from Nuh; Rajveer from Jind; Pravesh and Ravindra from Charkhi Dadri; Sukhwinder from Jind; Ashu from Rewari; Ramesh alias Mesa from Sisar; Bhola, Manoj from Gohana; Yogendra Acharya and Azad Acharya, Deepak, Sanjay Parmar, Navneet, Bholu and Devi Lal from Haryana.
Earlier, the forensic report confirmed that the charred bodies and the blood stains found in the SUV recovered from a cow shelter in Jind were those of Junaid and Nasir.
Based on initial investigation, police said Junaid died in Firojpur Jhirka, while the accused strangulated Nasir in Bhiwani. “They burnt the bodies and the SUV on the intervening night of 14-15 February,” the SP added.
