The charred bodies of two men were found in a Mahindra Bolero SUV in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on Thursday after they were allegedly abducted from Bharatpur district in Rajasthan by men said to be cow vigilantes, news agency PTI reported. In their complaint to the police, the families of the deceased – Nasir, 25, and Junaid alias Juna, 35, – said the people who abducted them were from Bajrang Dal, the report added.
A police officer, however, said they are investigating whether it is a case of cow vigilantism or not.
Nasir and Junaid, residents of Ghatmeeka village of Pahari tehsil in Bharatpur district, were allegedly abducted on Wednesday and their bodies were found in the charred car in Loharu in Bhiwani on Thursday morning, the police told PTI.
The police said they were informed by a villager about a burnt car. Soon, the police rushed to the spot and found two charred bodies in the car, Jagat Singh, deputy superintendent of police, Loharu (Bhiwani), said.
Police are investigating the possibility of the vehicle being driven to Loharu, some 200 kilometres from Bharatpur, and then set on fire.
Superintendent of police, Bharatpur, Shyam Singh said an FIR has been registered at Gopalgarh police station against five persons on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victims’ family members. He said teams have been formed to nab the accused.
Singh said Bolero found burnt in Bhiwani is the same one missing from Bharatpur. He said a DNA examination of the bodies would be conducted to ascertain their identities.
One of the victims, Junaid, had a criminal history, he said. Asked about the involvement of cow vigilantes in the incident, the police officer said it is a matter of investigation.
In Bhiwani, police said they identified the owner of the vehicle as Aseen Khan from the chassis number of the four-wheeler.
The family members of the deceased were called and they also identified the vehicle, the police said, adding the bodies were handed over to them after legal formalities.
A case under relevant sections, including 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Indian Penal Code, was registered at Gopalgarh police station in Rajasthan, the Haryana Police said.
The Indian Express reported Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, one of the six Bajrang Dal members named in the FIR, denied the allegation in a social media video and demanded “strict action against the perpetrators” involved in the case.
Who is Mohit Yadav?
> The Indian Express report added that on January 28, Mohit Yadav, 28, and others were named in another police complaint in Tauru in Haryana’s Nuh, after a 22-year-old man, who was caught by them on the suspicion of cattle smuggling and later handed over to the police, died at a hospital.
> The police, the report added, said the man died of injuries sustained in an accident after the car he was travelling in along with his two associates crashed into a tempo.
> Mohit, a native of Manesar, makes a living sub-letting room for labourers in the area. He has described himself as a “gau rakshak” and social activist.
> In 2011, he joined the Bajrang Dal as a district co-coordinator.
(With inputs from PTI)
