On Friday (February 25), the Rajasthan Police said that they were still collecting evidence against gaurakshak Monu Manesar, whose name was forced into the FIR by the families of deceased cattle smugglers Junaid and Nasir. As per a report by The Times of India, the police have so far not found any evidence against Manesar. His name did not feature in the initial list of 8 suspects released by the cops.
However, the move angered the family members of Nasir and Junaid, post which they protested in Firozpur Jhirka in Nuh, alleging that the police were directing their focus away from Monu Manesar.
They even blocked the Delhi-Alwar Road and the route from Firozpur Jhirka to Pahari. The protest caused traffic jams for around two hours, and additional police were deployed in the area. The Muslim community across Rajasthan also held protests demanding justice for the cow smugglers. A Muslim ‘activist’ called Waseem Akram, who was leading the protest, said that only one accused has been arrested so far and others should be arrested soon.
It was only after that the police released a new list of 12 suspects and included the name of Monu Manesar, which did not feature in the original list of 8 suspects.
Bharatpur IG Gaurav Srivastav stated that no one has been given a clean chit so far and that the gaurakshak is among these dozen suspects whom the police are still collecting evidence against.
“We released the names and photos of eight accused after their involvement was proved. Other than the eight accused named by cops, we are investigating the role of a dozen other suspects, including those named in the FIR. We will name them only when we have gathered the required evidence,” he told TOI.
The Background of the Bhiwani Case
On February 17 this year, the Rajasthan Police reached Haryana to probe the Bhiwani case in which the charred dead bodies of ‘cattle smugglers’ Junaid and Nasir were recovered by the Haryana Police.
The family members of the duo alleged that five Bajrang Dal members named Mohit Yadav, Shrikant Pandit, Rinku Saini, and two other Gau Rakshaks abducted Junaid and Nasir and later burnt them alive in Bhiwani.
Based on the complaint filed by family members of the deceased smugglers, they barged into the house of Shrikant Pandit and detained two of his younger brothers named Vishnu and Rahul.
According to Shrikant’s family, around 30-40 Rajasthan police officers entered their house at wee hours of the morning and assaulted the alleged accused’s mother and his wife (leading to the loss of the premature child).
On February 21, 2023, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organisations called a Mahapanchayat to extend their support to Monu Manesar. The ‘gaurakshak’ has worked extensively to protect cows from smugglers in Manesar and Mewat areas, the organisations stated.
As per a sting operation dubbed ‘Operation Loharu’, conducted by news organisation TV9 Bharatvarsh, SHO (Gopalgarh) could be heard as saying, “Monu Manesar’s location was not discovered there (at the spot).”
