Hundreds of villagers and members of right-wing groups gathered on Tuesday in Haryana’s Manesar district and backed Mohit Yadav or Monu Manesar, a key accused in the grisly murder of two Muslim men whose charred bodies were found inside a burnt car last week.
Rajasthan Police have named five people, all members of right-wing groups, in the first information report (FIR), but only one of them has been arrested. Police say that the murders of Mohammed Junaid, 35, and Mohammed Nasir, 27, on February 16 were linked to cow vigilante groups.
On Tuesday, members of the Hindu mahapanchayat at Manesar village voiced their support for Monu, who has four cases against him. They also briefly blocked the Delhi-Jaipur highway in protest against a police visit to his house.
“Raids are being conducted in the village in search of Monu Manesar and his family members have been harassed. We will not let Rajasthan Police return alive if they enter the village. We have informed Pataudi and Manesar police not to allow Rajasthan Police to enter the village,” said Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a member of the Bajrang Dal and who was part of the mahapanchayat.
The mahapanchayat also formed a 16-member team, comprising cow vigilantes, that will be deputed to “protect” Monu and his family.
Junaid and Nasir left their home in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district at 5am in a vehicle but were allegedly attacked by a group of men and brutally assaulted near Piruka forests in the state. Twenty-seven hours later, their bodies were recovered from a burnt vehicle in Haryana’s Bhiwani district, 165 kilometres away. The FIR alleged that the two men were attacked by Monu, a member of Bajrang Dal, along with Rinku Saini, Srikant Pandit, Lokesh Singhla, and Anil, who police say are also part of cow vigilante groups. Only one, Rinku Saini, has been arrested so far.
Monu is a popular figure in Manesar district. He runs a YouTube channel, ‘Monu Manesar Bajrang Dal’, which has over 200,000 subscribers. He and his team of cow vigilantes often post videos of them chasing suspected cattle smugglers on YouTube and other social media platforms. They also post images of detained suspects and the “rescued” cattle. There are at least four cases registered against him in Haryana and Rajasthan.
People at the mahapanchayat hailed Monu as a hero and said that it was only because of him that cow smuggling was contained in the area. Speeches at the mahapanchayat claimed that a false case was registered against the accused, and that Monu Manesar was not in Nuh on the day of the incident. “We have CCTV footage of the hotel where he had stayed that night. Rajasthan Police has been harassing cow vigilantes and are conducting raids. They have assaulted Srikant’s wife who was nine months pregnant, and there is anger among the youth,” said Devender Yadav, member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Yadav was referring to Srikant Pandit (30), a resident of Maroda village in Nuh and a well-known informer of cow vigilante groups.
In a video released shortly after the incident, Monu condemned the killing and said that his team was not involved. Harinder Singh, assistant commissioner of police (Pataudi), said the state police had managed the situation. “We will not let the people take law in their hands,” Singh said.
Two policemen from the Pataudi police station visited Manesar village to serve notice to Monu to “inform him that his arms license will be cancelled.”
Kulvinder Singh, joint commissioner of Gurugram police, said a notice has been issued to cancel Monu’s arm licence after his name figured in a criminal case (murder of two Muslim men). “We do not renew or issue fresh arm licence to anyone found involved in any criminal case,” he said.
It was at this point that members of the mahapanchayat spilled onto the Delhi-Jaipur highway in protest at Manesar village at 11am and blocked traffic around 2pm.
Om Prakash, former village chief of Manesar, said police should not cancel his arms licence and instead increase security. “Monu has been helping police in arresting cow smugglers. If the police cancel the arm licence, then there will be a threat to his life,” he said.
Rashid Khan, a social activist from Punhana in Nuh, said the mahapanchayat was held for a criminal who has been named in the FIR. “This is a shameful act by senior members of the society, trying to hide the criminal activities of a man who has brutally killed two men and set them on fire. Action must be taken against all of them who are protecting Monu Manesar,” he said.
Rajuddin Meo, another social activist, said the mahapanchayat will leave a wrong message in the society. “If Monu Manesar is not guilty, let him join the investigation and let the police decide,” he said.
Rajasthan director general of police Umesh Mishra refused to comment on the event. “The investigation is on. We are convinced that at least eight people were involved in the act. We have sought the cooperation of Haryana police and they are extending it. The police of both the states are coordinating,” he added.
