After cow vigilante Monu Manesar was named accused in the killing of two Muslim men from Rajasthan in Haryana, members of the right-wing organisations, VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad) and Bajrang Dal took out a rally in his support on Saturday.
Nasir and Junaid were kidnapped, lynched and murdered allegedly by members of the Bajrang Dal, including Manesar, on suspicion of their involvement in cow slaughter, on Tuesday.
The bodies of the victims were found charred to death in a car following which a case was booked. So far, six have been detained for questioning in connection with the case.
“Jo ham se takrayega choor choor hojayega” (Those who clash with us, will be razed to dust), “Monu Bhai aagey badho hum tumharey saath hain” (Monu brother, move forward! We are with you!), “Gau rakshakoun ke samman mei, har Hindu maidan mei” (For the respect of cow vigilantes, every Hindu will step into the field) were raised in the rally.
Slogans were also raised against the Gehlot government in Rajasthan after a case was booked against the cow vigilantes in Gopalgarh on Wednesday. Aside from him, the FIR names Bajrang Dal leaders Lokesh, Rinku Saini and Srikant for kidnapping and beating Junaid and Nasir
Manesar has been an active Bajrang Dal member since 2016 and has on several occasions shared photos of himself with high-profile politicians and police officials.
He has also shared several videos of himself and other members of the Bajrang Dal brandishing guns and threatening alleged cow smugglers, several of who were seen wounded.
VHP spokespersons held press conferences in Gurgaon and stated that they would hold protests in Rajasthan’s Alwar.
They stated that the discovery of the bodies, the filing of two FIRs (abduction and murder) and the names of cow vigilantes being taken and their arrest without any evidence and investigation is absolutely wrong and a communal issue.
They have demanded that forensic evidence must be taken and a CBI probe must be initiated into the issue before the accused are arrested and alleged that they have been arrested based on “claims of a Muslim” and based on circumstantial evidence.
“We cannot expect anything from the Rajasthan government hence the CBI must be involved. They are trying to misuse this opportunity for political gains. This is against the law. We will hold Mahapanchayats to protest against this,” said a VHP leader.
Following the deaths, a family member of one of the deceased was quoted by Maktoob Media stating that Monu Manesar, along with other members had abducted Junaid and Nasir from the forests of Piruka and taken them to Barwas village in Bhiwani.
The family alleged that their SUV was stopped on Wednesday morning, on the suspicion of cow-smuggling, after hitting the vehicle and the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) team of Ferozepur-Jhirka was present there. Both the men were first severely beaten, and handed over to the Bajrang Dal team in a half-dead condition and taken to the police station. But the police refused to take them into custody after seeing their condition.
Both were then burnt alive along with the Bolero and the bodies of the duo were found on Wednesday night near Loharu village of Bhiwani.
At the same time, a claim is also being made that Junaid and Nasir were thrashed and kidnapped along with the SUV by some Bajrang Dal members from Piruka village in Bharatpur on Wednesday morning, before being burnt alive in Haryana. Police have however termed this allegation false.
