Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday accused his Haryana counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar, of diverting attention from his failure to stop communal violence in Nuh and elsewhere by claiming that the Rajasthan police were free to act against cow vigilantes. Mr. Gehlot said the Haryana police were not cooperating in the Nasir-Junaid murder case.
The two Muslim men — both residents of Ghatmika village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district — were allegedly abducted and killed by cow vigilantes owing allegiance to the Bajrang Dal in neighbouring Haryana in February this year. Their charred bodies were found inside a burnt vehicle near Loharu town in Haryana’s Bhiwani district.
Mr. Khattar had on Wednesday said the Rajasthan police were free to arrest the prime accused in the case, Monu Manesar, and the police of his State would render help in every possible way. The communal clashes in Haryana are believed to have been triggered by the videos released on social media by Monu Manesar and his associates.
Mr. Gehlot said here that when the policemen from Rajasthan went to arrest the accused in the Nasir-Junaid murder case, the Haryana police, instead of rendering assistance, registered a first information report against them. “The Haryana police are not cooperating with Rajasthan in finding the accused who are absconding,” Mr. Gehlot posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Mr. Khattar, who failed to stop the violence taking place in Haryana, is now making such statements just to divert the attention of the people, which is not appropriate,” Mr. Gehlot said.
Monu Manesar, a local Bajrang Dal member, runs a regional network of ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow protectors) and uploads videos on the social media platforms showing him in hot pursuit of alleged cow smugglers. He has been absconding ever since he was named an accused along with others in the Nasir-Junaid murder case.
The FIR against the Rajasthan police personnel, to which Mr. Gehlot made a reference, was registered in Haryana on a complaint lodged by the family of accused Shrikant Pandit, who is a member of the Gau Rakshak Dal. The complainants alleged that the policemen had barged into Shrikant’s home and assaulted his pregnant wife, Kamlesh, causing a miscarriage.
