The charred bodies of two men, Junaid (35) and Nasir (25), both residents of Ghatmeeka in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, were found on February 16 in Bhiwani, Haryana, inside a four-wheeler. The two were allegedly attacked and abducted by a mob that later set them ablaze inside their car. Junaid’s cousin Ismail told The Wire that the family complained to local police after learning that Bajrang Dal members had allegedly abducted the two men on suspicions of cow smuggling.
Rinku Saini, a resident of Firozpur Jhirka in Haryana’s Nuh district and one of the five accused in the case, was arrested on February 17. According to senior Rajasthan Police officer Shyam Singh, the four others named in an FIR registered at Gopalgarh police station were Anil, Srikant, Lokesh Singhla and Monu Manesar. Saini, a taxi diver by profession, was involved with a cow vigilante group.
As the news of two men allegedly burnt to death in Haryana by cow vigilantes associated with the Bajrang Dal came out, Monu Manesar, the district coordinator of Bajrang Dal Manesar who leads a team of approximately 50 ‘gau rakshaks’, released a statement denying any role of the Right-Wing outfit in the incident. “My team & I have nothing to do with this incident. Police must probe to find the real culprits. Our organization should not be defamed by dragging it into this. Whatever claims being spread on social media are absolutely wrong,” said Monu in a statement to ANI.
Monu and his team members also released a video statement. “No teams belonging to Bajrang Dal were at the scene of the crime. I got to know about the incident from social media and it is extremely unfortunate. Whoever is responsible for this should be given strict punishment. Neither I nor my team is involved in the incident. I request the people to fully cooperate with the police in their investigation. However, whoever has been named as the accused is completely innocent,” Monu said.
Surendra Jain, the joint secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), also released a video statement, claiming the Bajrang Dal was being defamed in the context of the incident. “The discovery of the charred remains that were found in a burnt vehicle in Loharu, Haryana is an extremely unfortunate incident. The car belongs to Rajasthan but whose remains were found? Was the fire an unfortunate accident or a case of arson? The answers to these questions still need to be investigated. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad demands an impartial investigation into the matter and strict punishment for those involved. Two cow smugglers from Bharatpur, Rajasthan are missing. Several cases of cow smuggling are active against them. One of the cow smuggler’s brother mentioned the names of some influential persons belonging to Bajrang Dal. Without initial investigation, Rajasthan Police believed that the accused named by the brother are responsible for the incident. Unfortunately, Bajrang Dal is being defamed through this course of action……”. Jain went on to demand a CBI investigation into the case. He also demanded that the Rajasthan government should apologize for the false allegation against Bajrang Dal. (Archive)
This story was originally published in altnews.in . Read the full story here
