Murders by cow vigilante: Raj cop questions chronology in viral clip

JAIPUR: In the ongoing sloppy police investigation into the killing of two Muslim youths in a village in Haryana’s Bhiwani by the alleged cow vigilante, a video clip has gone viral raising doubts about the sequence of events in the case.

The two youths were first allegedly abducted from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and burnt to death in an SUV that passed through another Haryana town, Nuh. In the clip, the SHO of the Gopalgarh Police Station (Bharatpur) claims that the SUV was set afire by cow vigilantes mainly to hide the evidence of their criminal act. Station House Officer Ram Naresh also says that there are five cases of cow smuggling against one of the victims, Junaid.

In the viral video, the SHO says the information about the two Muslim men going away from their home was leaked from inside the village. That enabled the cow vigilantes to gather information about the movement of both victims.

Apparently, the video clip in which the SHO makes revelations about the deceased Junaid and Nasir is three days old. It was probably part of a sting operation by a local TV channel, in which SHO Ram Naresh, who is investigating the case, is also seen saying that the alleged cow vigilantes had burnt Nasir and Junaid alive in an SUV to destroy the evidence.

In the video, the officer is also seen saying that Junaid has five cases of cow smuggling registered against him, in which he was wanted by the Rajasthan Police. According to the Gopalgarh police, on February 15, Junaid’s relative Ismail lodged a report of kidnapping and assault on Junaid-Nasir and their killing. Five people from Haryana were charged. These include Anil, Shrikant, Rinku Saini, Lokesh Singla and Monu alias Mohit. The mastermind of the case is an alleged ‘cow protector’ Monu Manesar alias Mohit.

While Rinku Saini has been arrested by Rajasthan Police and he is in the custody of Gopalgarh police, the other accused are absconding. Rinku is being questioned during remand. The SHO is saying in the video that the alleged cow vigilantes thrashed Nasir and Junaid and handed them over to the Haryana Police. He says in the video that “the Haryana Police seeing their condition said they would not take them.”

The alleged torching incident was triggered by the Haryana Police raising the jurisdiction issue. They (the alleged cow protectors) thrashed the victims to destroy the evidence and put them in an SUV. Later, they set the vehicle afire near Bhiwani,” the Rajasthan officer is heard saying in the clip.