In Ghatmeeka village on the Rajasthan-Haryana border, Sajida’s toddler Shefa calls out for her father every time she hears his name – Junaid.
Weary of explaining her husband’s absence to her children, Sajida seeks comfort at her mother’s home nearby.
“It is very painful to see my daughter suffering like this,” said Mubeena Akhtar. “We married her off because we are getting old and wanted to see her happy. But her life is devastated now.”
On February 15, 2023, the families of Junaid and his neighbour Nasir made a police complaint stating that the men were missing. The families feared that the two had been abducted by the Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal.
The next day, the police discovered the charred remains of the two men in an SUV in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. Months later, in May, “Monu Manesar”, or Mohit Yadav, the head of the so-called cow vigilante wing of the Bajrang Dal, was named in the chargesheet.
Three others were accused of murder, abduction and other criminal charges. Yadav was arrested in September after communal violence broke out in Haryana’s Nuh region.
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.
