Cow vigilante and murder accused Monu Manesar's Instagram account given a blue tick

Notorious cow vigilante and Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar, who is accused of murdering and burning the bodies of two Muslim men from Rajasthan, has been given a blue tick on Instagram.

This sparked furious reactions from netizens, and Instagram had to face backlash for 'providing validity to a murder accused and a hate-spreader'.

Junaid and Nasir's charred bodies were found in a burnt vehicle in Haryana on February 16. They were killed on suspicion of cow slaughter allegedly by Monu and his gang. Videos shared on social media showed that Muslim men were chased down by Manesar and his 'gang of cow activists'.

Immediately after the incident, Manesar who is one of the main accused in the Bhiwani killing case, went into hiding. His social media accounts with thousands of followers remained shut during these months.

However, his social media accounts got reactivated on March 27, leading to speculation that the notorious cow vigilante active in the Rajasthan and Haryana border 'is back to work' now. Human rights activists as well as commoners have come down heavily on the social media giant Instagram for giving 'sanctity' to Manesar.

A close scrutiny of Manesar's social media accounts reveals that he has been posting videos for weeks. On April 6, Manesar allegedly posted a video on his Instagram page in which he is seen posing with a group of men. The video pans to a gun that is placed on a table.

In another video, allegedly posted by Manesar, he is seen posing with a truck whose tyres have been deflated. Manesar claims that a truck was chased down to stop cow slaughtering.

Manesar also reactivated his YouTube channel. With a thumbnail titled “Jab tak todenge nahi, tab tak change nahi,” Manesar posted a video of a man covered in blood. In the description, he is accused of cow smuggling.

Several individuals on social media have called out the Haryana Police for not apprehending Manesar despite the videos surfacing. They have also pointed to the nature of the videos being posted to his various social media sites that have been threatening in nature. The open display of weapons has also been called out.

Monu Manesar hogged headlines in the national media after he allegedly led a group of cow vigilantes on a chase of the truck in which Junaid and Nasir were present in February this year.

The video also shows shots being fired at the truck from the car. Later the burnt bodies of the two men were discovered. On Saturday, Rajasthan police arrested two more accused in the case namely, Monu Rana and Monu alia Gogi. Notices have also been issued to Haryana Gauraksha Dal’s Vice President and some co-workers for being involved in this crime.