On February 16, 2023, the charred bodies of two brothers identified as Junaid and Nasir were discovered inside a burnt Belero car on the Rajasthan-Haryana border. The two young men were brutally beaten and killed by gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) who accused them of cattle smuggling.
After a year, Junaid’s 14-year-old daughter, Parwana, deeply affected by her father’s brutal murder, recently passed away.
Tragically, due to the overwhelming grief, Parwana’s health started deteriorating rapidly and she died of a heart attack at the hospital.
‘When will my father come back?’
55-year-old Ismail, Junaid’s cousin, said, “It was the grief… Parwan could hardly speak and her health had started deteriorating after her father’s death.”
“Parwana often asked us these questions: What had my father done? Why was he killed? When will he come back home? But we didn’t have any answers,” Ismail told The Print.
One day Parwan’s health condition deteriorated more. She had a fever, prompting her family members to take her to the hospital where she was admitted. Around 11:30 pm, she suffered a heart attack and died.
The night Parwana died she called her mother from the hospital telling her that she would soon return home. This was the last time Junaid’s wife Sajida heard the voice of her teenage daughter.
Widows strive to rebuild lives
Despite immense economic and social challenges, Sajida and Nasir’s wife Parmeena are striving to rebuild their lives.
To cover expenses to feed her six children and for their studies, Sajida reportedly opened a small cosmetic shop this week. Before the small business, Sajida earned around Rs 8,000 monthly by selling milk and crops as she owned two acres of agricultural land and one buffalo. However, with time her agricultural income and earnings from dairy now fall short to cover all expenses.
Pertinently, on the murder of Junaid, Sajida received a total of Rs 6 lakh in compensation from the Rajasthan government and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chairman Asaduddin Owaisi. She has deposited the money in the name of her elder son.
Despite eight months passing since Junaid and Nasir were murdered, prime accused Monu Manesar was roaming free. Haryana police had declared that he was ‘absconding’. The police initially failed to arrest him because of his connection with BJP bigwigs in Haryana and top police officials who felicitated him for ‘serving cows’.
Subsequently, after outrage, Manesar was detained for quoting by Deeg police. However, after days he was released on bail. The slow pace of justice in this case has only added to the family’s anguish.
Cow vigilantes tracked Junaid and Nasir
The police investigation revealed that the cow vigilantes, fueled by their extremist ideology, led by Monu Manesar (prime accused of the case) had listed out personal information of Nasir and Junaid, a week before they were brutally murdered for alleged cow smuggling.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the right-wing outfit had circulated vehicle registration and phone numbers of Nasir Hussain and Junaid Khan among the vigilantes about a week after they were killed.
Police made this revelation days after the prime accused Monu Manesar who is also a leader of the Bajrang Dal vigilante, was arrested. He was nabbed by Haryana police on September 12, for his “objectionable and inflammatory” posts on social media post ahead of deadly communal violence in Nuh.
A Rajasthan police official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, told The Indian Express that during Monu Manesar’s two-day interrogation, it was found that he used to be in touch with the another accused Rinku Saini. The duo had spoken on the phone before and after the abduction of Nasir and Junaid.
The accused had formed two groups and set up a barrier to intercept the victims at Peeruka, on the Rajasthan-Haryana border, a chargesheet filed in May 2023 states. This action suggests that the accused were aware of the victims’ route in advance.
“Their plan was not to commit this act (of killing Nasir and Junaid) but to pick them up. They just wanted to first catch them with the cows. But when they didn’t get the cows, they beat them to find out about smuggled cows,” an officer was quoted by The Indian Express.
Nasir and Junaid were strangled to death
The interrogation of two suspects in April 2023 revealed that Nasir was strangled to death by vigilantes in Bhiwani after Junaid died first in Ferozepur Jhirka. The bodies and vehicle were then set afire to destroy evidence.
The chargesheet filed by the Rajasthan Police reveals a disturbing pattern of collusion between the cow vigilantes and the police. It states that the Haryana Police often work with these “gau raksha dals” to round up and take action against suspected cattle smugglers.
Manesar is also accused of an attempt to murder case registered in Pataudi police station.
The case is related to a clash in Pataudi in which four people suffered injuries, including Mohin Khan, 20, who suffered a gunshot wound.
Police remand papers stated that during the probe, Monu confessed to his involvement in the incident, however, he was granted bail in this case too.
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