On April 6, 2023, the Agra Police released a press release reporting the arrest of two cow-slaughterers, Imran Qureshi aka Thakur and Shanu alias Illi. Manish Jat, Saurabh Sharma, Brijesh Bhadoria, Jitendra, and Ajay all of who claimed to be members of the ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ were identified as accused in the case.
Sanjay Jat, Saurabh Sharma, Brajesh Bhadoria and Jitendra Kushwaha are also arrested. Notably, police are charging Jitendra with being a part of the conspiracy despite the fact that he is the complainant in the registered FIR.
Some political parties and media outlets used this issue as an excuse to disparage Hindu organisations. After speaking with all the stakeholders, OpIndia conducted a ground investigation of the entire matter to ascertain the truth behind all the allegations.
The backstory of the case
The entire incident began at 1 in the morning on March 30, when Jitendra filed an FIR of cow slaughter in the vicinity of the Agra Police Etmaddaula police station. As per the complaint, four people, including Rizwan, Nakeem, Bijju and Shanu were slaughtering a cow and selling beef in the bushes near the Gautam Nagar cave.
Jitendra and his friends, Vishal and Manish Pandit, the complaint said, had visited the spot, only to discover that the accused had fled, leaving the butchered cow behind. They urged the police to take strong action against the culprits, branding them as cruel cow slaughterers. The police began their inquiry after filing the FIR (a copy of which is available with Opindia) under Sections 429 of the IPC and 3/5/8 of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.
Police uncovered shocking facts during the investigation
On April 5, the police learned of the presence of five individuals in the city who were involved in the killing of cows. Furthermore, the police came to know that the perpetrators were planning to escape on a bike and a scooter. However, two of them, Shanu and Imran, were apprehended while riding a scooter during the police raid.
Three charges have already been filed against Imran in Agra while Shanu has six active cases in the city. Most of these cases are of cow slaughter. Salman and another offender managed to get away.
Both of the arrested accused confessed that they had a history of animosity with Agra residents, including Nakeem, Bijo, and Rizwan, during their interrogation. They suspected that Nakeem, who worked for the Agra Municipal Corporation, had a role in sending Jhallu and Imran to jail some time back.
Since then, both of them desperately wanted to teach him and his friends a lesson. So they elaborately planned to slaughter a cow and later place the blame at the feet of Nakeem, Rizwan, and others. To execute their machinations, Shanu, Imran, and others killed a stray cow in an empty field in Gautam Nagar.
The dubious role of Sanjay Jat and his team
The cow slaughterers roped in Sanjay Jat, Saurabh Sharma, Brijesh Bhadoria, Ajay, and Jitendra to lure them to their adversaries. They added that Sanjay Jat and his friends knew about the occurrence beforehand and were prepared to instigate trouble for Nakeem and others by filing an FIR following the cow’s death.
It is alleged that all of them were continuously in touch with one another, both on the phone and in person, before and after the incident. According to the plan, Jitendra filed an FIR against Rizwan, Nakeem, and others after the occurrence, and he and his friends pressured authorities to take the latter into custody.
Two arrests are made so far
In view of the conspiracy in this case, the police have slapped section 120B of the IPC and section 420 of cheating after arresting Imran and Shanu. Salman and the others have evaded capture thus far. The name of the absconding accused, Jhallu, was mentioned, but he was discovered to be incarcerated. Afterwards, the police clarified that the arrested duo lied about his name.
The police are also looking for Jitendra, Sanjay Jat, Saurabh Sharma, Brijesh Bhadoria, and Ajay who are apparently a significant part of this arrangement. Police press notice is available on OpIndia.
The Chakrapani faction of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ is conducting an internal inquiry
Sanjay Jat and his accomplices are rumoured to be connected to the Chakrapani group of the ‘Hindu Mahasabha.’ Rishi Trivedi, the state president of this organisation, cast doubt on the police’s premise while informing about the outfit’s ongoing internal probe. He disclosed that after the inquiry, the final result would be announced at a news conference. He also attacked the police for being late and cleared himself and his associates, except for Sanjay Jat, of any wrongdoing.
After being on for a time, Jitendra and Sanjay Jat’s cell phones were turned off when OpIndia contacted them to get their side of the story.
The police have strong evidence
When speaking to OpIndia, SHO Etmaddula Inspector Rajkumar emphasised that the police had not built their suspicions on the testimony of a single person but rather on the availability of concrete evidence against Sanjay Jat and the other members of his gang. He characterised the police’s procedure as completely impartial and highlighted that, as a result of their sharp vigilance, no unfavourable incident of any kind transpired even after the nefarious plans were hatched surrounding the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami.
Sanjay Jat has more than 1 dozen cases in his name
The station in charge has already declared Sanjay Jat as wanted in 14 counts which were recorded in Agra and its neighbouring areas. We were also informed that he was arrested for extortion just days before in Agra. The police officer contended that he is aware of how sensitive the subject is and that only conclusive proof is being used to guide the action.
Sanjay Jat is rejected by ‘Hindu groups’
A member of the ‘Bajrang Dal’ in Agra spoke with OpIndia on the condition of anonymity and unveiled that the working methods of Sanjay Jat and his associates are already under question. He labelled the accused and his aides as being capricious. Moreover, SHO Etmaddaula informed us that Sanjay Jat and the other conspirators are already rejected by the ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ and other authentic Hindu bodies.
Leftists and Islamists indulge in rumour mongering
The leftist group of media and some political parties have tried to establish that the members of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ had slaughtered cows to trap Muslim youths. Rahul Ishwar, Prashant Bhushan, Rana Ayyub, Saurabh Bhardwaj of ‘Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’, The Wire, Samajwadi Party Media Cell, Scroll, Manisha Pandey etc. did not even mention the names of the cow slaughterers in their posts.
They are overlooking facts and desperately trying to pin the guilt on Hindus. Interestingly, the image they are circulating is that of Imran and Shanu in police custody and not any member of ‘Hindu Mahasabha.’
According to them, the Muslims are the target of a Hindu plot to blame them for cow slaughter. Police disclosures, however, indicate that the conflict was amongst Muslims, with participants from Hindu groups apparently acting as collaborators. It is also important to note that Imran and Shanu, the young men who killed the cow, are Muslims who apparently cooperated with other Hindus to file a lawsuit in order to end their long-standing animosity with Rizwan and others.
