edited by: Oindrila Mukherjee
Last Update: February 17, 2023, 23:56 IST
Charred remains of a vehicle, where bodies of two Muslim men were found, at Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. (Image: PTI)
Police said the two victims from Rajasthan were first thrashed and then abducted by cow vigilantes on suspicion of smuggling beef.
The charred bodies of two Muslim men were found in a car after they were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes on suspicion of smuggling cow meat in Haryana’s Bhiwani. The Rajasthan Police on Friday arrested one of the five Bajrang Dal activists named in the FIR and questioned some suspects, officials said.
Police have identified the two men as Naseer (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35), residents of Ghatmika village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district. A police officer said Junaid had a criminal record of cattle smuggling and had five cases registered against him in different police stations.
The two were allegedly abducted on February 15 and their bodies were found at Loharu in Bhiwani on Thursday morning, police said, adding that the cousins had left home for some work in a white Bolero car and did not return Returned According to the FIR registered in the case on Thursday, minutes after he left home, eight to 10 people stopped his vehicle on suspicion of smuggling beef.
The FIR states that the men beat them unconscious and put them inside their car and took them to the police station. sources told cnn-news18 that the police refused to take him because his condition was critical.
On Thursday, police in Bhiwani received information about a burning car with two people inside and rushed to the spot along with a forensic team, which identified the car through its chassis number. On enquiry, the police found that a missing person had been registered in Ferozepur and subsequently, the Rajasthan Police was informed.
On Friday, the dead bodies of the victims were sent to their homes in Bharatpur, where the entire village gathered for a panchayat. He demanded Rs 50 lakh each for the next of kin of both the men, a government job for a family member and the arrest of all the accused involved.
“The people named in the FIR are linked to the Bajrang Dal, but whether they were involved in the crime or not is yet to be ascertained,” said Gaurav Srivastava, Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range. He said that half a dozen people have been detained and they are being questioned.
One of the main accused in the case is Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, Gurugram district president of Bajrang Dal and a member of the self-styled cow protection group. He was earlier named in a case of attempt to murder registered at Gurugram’s Pataudi police station on February 7.
A history-sheeter, Monu runs a Facebook page where he posts about his work and claims to be a cow protector. Several other cases ranging from firing in public to promoting violence are pending against him, but the police never took any action against him. While on the run, he also released a video in which he is saying that he has nothing to do with the latest case against him and demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. But, he has not surrendered yet.
Bharatpur Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh said that based on a complaint lodged by the family members of the victims, an FIR was lodged at the Gopalgarh police station against five people — Anil, Srikant, Rinku Saini, Lokesh Singla and Monu. The arrested person has been identified as Rinku Saini, a 32-year-old taxi cab driver who is associated with the Gau Rakshak group. Four people are still absconding.
They have been booked under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 365 (kidnapping), 367 (causing grievous hurt followed by abduction) and 368 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Has gone.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the killings and promised strict action against the accused. The cousins were cremated even after Minister of State for Education Zahida Khan visited the affected families. He promised an amount of Rs 20 lakh each to both the families and free schooling for all the children.
(With PTI inputs)
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