Jaipur/Bharatpur: Forensic analysis has established that the charred bodies found in a burnt Bolero in Haryana’s Bhiwani and the blood stains in a second car retrieved by investigators from Jind were of cousins Mohammed Junaid and Mohammed Nasi, who were allegedly killed by cow vigilante groups, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.
The findings for the first time link the remains to the two victims and connect the second car – which was found at a gaushala – to the crime.
“The FSL report has confirmed that the charred bodies found in Bhiwani and the blood stains recovered from the SUV that was seized from a gaushala in Jind are of Nasir and Junaid,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bharatpur range, Gaurav Srivastav said.
According to the FIR in the case, 35-year-old Junaid and 27-year-old Nasir were allegedly assaulted and abducted by members with links to right-wing groups near Piruka forests in Rajasthan on February 15. Their bodies were recovered the next day, roughly 165 km away.
Last week, Rajasthan Police recovered a Mahindra Scorpio, which they believed was used in the killing of two men. Police had said that they found multiple CCTV images that show two vehicles – the one that was set on fire, and the Scorpio recovered later– travelling from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district to Bhiwani on February 15. The Scorpio was registered under the name of the Jind Zila Parishad (district body) but was later auctioned to a local resident, police officials said.
The Bajrang Dal has denied any links to the crime, as has Mohit Yadav or Monu Manesar, one of the people being investigated in the case. Rajasthan Police have arrested one person, identified as 32-year-old Rinku Saini, a member of Bajrang Dal, and named eight people in total as accused in the case.
According to the version of events put together by Rajasthan police, between 4.30am and 5am on February 15, Junaid and Nasir were waylaid by nine men. Police said the two victims were travelling in a Mahindra Bolero when the accused, travelling in a Mahindra Scorpio, stopped them, suspecting them to be cow smugglers. The two victims were assaulted and by 6.15am, the nine men took them in an injured state to Firozpur Jhirka police station. The police station, however, saw the condition of the two men and sent them away. It is yet not clear when the accused set the Bolero on fire with the two men inside, before the vehicle with their charred bodies was found early on February 16.