Bhiwani murder case: For 15 hours, cow vigilantes travelled with injured Rajasthan men

Rajasthan police have said that at least two vigilante groups allegedly kept moving across Haryana with the two injured Rajasthan men for more than 15 hours on February 15 before their burnt remains were discovered in a car the next morning.

Two groups, one from the Mewat region comprising areas of Haryana and Rajasthan, and another from Jind-Bhiwani-Karnal in Haryana, were allegedly involved in the killings of Junaid and Nasir, reported The Indian Express.

The Rajasthan Police has identified 8 accused in the case so far based on the statement of one accused Rinku Saini, reported the Free Press Journal.

The police are investigating the probable involvement of more such groups as part of their probe.

Bharatpur IG Gaurav Srivastava told reporters that the vehicle in which the cow vigilantes took the two victims have been traced to a “gaushala (cow shelter)” in Haryana’s Jind.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior police officer said, “In our investigation so far, we have found that two groups of cow vigilantes were involved in the crime. One group, comprising accused Rinku Saini, Anil and Shrikant, operates in the Mewat region. On February 15, they were working in tandem with another group that comprised accused Monu Rana, Kalu, Vikas, Shashikant, Kishore and Gogi. The second group is active in Jind-Bhiwani-Karnal areas of Haryana.”

Monu Manesar isn't a name that appeared on this particular list, but police have maintained that he remains a suspect.

“The two vigilante groups apprehended Junaid and Nasir on the morning of February 15. But they couldn’t find any cows with the two men. They then beat the two severely before entering Haryana. Thereafter, things went out of hand. Within two hours of picking the men up, they went to the Haryana police to hand them over. But seeing the grievously injured men, the Haryana police refused,” the officer said to The Indian Express.

“Starting from the morning of February 15, the cow vigilantes kept moving in Haryana for 16-17 hours till the bodies were burnt. The accused vigilantes were driving a Scorpio. The Bolero, which the victims were driving before they were apprehended, was also being driven by the vigilantes till midnight when the bodies of the two men were set on fire in Haryana’s Loharu along with the Bolero,” said the officer.

ADG Crime Dinesh MN said that on February 15, the complaint of kidnapping of Junaid and Nasir of Bharatpur was registered at Gopalgarh police station. On February 16, information was received that their car was found burnt in Bhiwani, Haryana.

Meanwhile, a 'mahapanchayat' was organised on Tuesday in Manesar in support of Monu Manesar. It claimed that the Bajrang Dal member was "innocent" in the murder case.