By Ram Puniyani 

Two Muslim men, Junaid and Nasir, set out on 16 February to meet their relatives in the Mewat region of Rajasthan. Members of so-called cow protection groups waylaid them, leading to a horrific sequence of violence that culminated in their tragic death. It is well-known that cow protection groups operate in Haryana and around, torturing cattle owners and transporters.

The killing of Junaid and Nasir reveals the extent of protection and support these groups get from the police. Events widely reported in the media give credence to allegations that the police and cow protectors openly collude to target the weakest sections of society—Mewat’s Muslim dairy farmers, cattle breeders, traders and transporters.

One such gang, allegedly led by Monu Manesar, operating in the name of cow protection, beat Junaid and Nasir. For some reason, they took their victims to a police station in an area not far from the Rajasthan border. But the police refused to take the two injured men to a hospital or apprehend those who accompanied them. The gang members then allegedly ferried Nasir and Junaid to a remote place in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, set their van afire with both men strapped inside. Locals discovered and reported the charred remains of the two men and the vehicle to the police. It has also been reported that the car used to abduct them was earlier registered as a government vehicle.

Human rights activist Harsh Mander, the founder of Karwan-e-Mohabbat, visited Nasir and Junaid’s village in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, which is very close to the border with Haryana, to soothe the wounds of the families and residents. He wrote in The Indian Express: “I am profoundly chilled as I scan social media pages of Monu Manesar. He and members of his gang livestream as they openly brandish sophisticated firearms, sound sirens mimicking police jeeps, shoot at vehicles, and brutally thrash the men they catch.”

Local protests are going on against the brutal killings, but at least two so-called maha-panchayats have also been held since mid-February. These mahapanchayats, which had the support of Sangh Parivar affiliates such as the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, also involved an outfit named the Hindu Sena. Hate speeches were delivered at all these gatherings. Speakers said that if Rajasthan Police try to arrest vigilante Monu Manesar, they will face a thrashing. At the mahapanchayat on 22 February, one self-styled “Aastha Maa” raked up the love jihad angle and incited listeners to attack Muslims.

So far, three alleged culprits in the murder of Junaid and Nasir have been arrested. It has turned out that they are police informers or mukhbirs. The menace of cow vigilantes has risen in the last few years, especially since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014. In 2015, Haryana passed a law, the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan (Cow Progeny Protection and Promotion Act, amended in 2019 to include a punishment of upto ten years for those who “traffic” cows. Since then, numerous groups have sprung up in the region, stopping vehicles carrying farm animals, forcing the drivers and owners to make deals, or attacking them brutally. Even transporters with valid papers are not being spared. Can anybody claim that the Haryana Police is blissfully unaware of what is going on?

The Muslims of Mewat, who have inherited a syncretic tradition of Islam, rely primarily on dairy farming for survival. While the police watch, they are made victims of regular attacks from Monu Manesar-type groups.

This story was originally published in newsclick.in . Read the full story here