Cow vigilante Monu Manesar, the prime accused in the Nasir-Junaid murder case, was “not directly involved” in the incident and only his role in the background was being probed, Rajasthan Director-General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra said here on Monday. The recent communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh district and elsewhere was triggered by videos released on social media by Monu and his associates.
Mr. Mishra told journalists during an interaction here that Monu was not among those who were present on the spot of double murder and the police were only investigating whether he had played any “indirect role” in the case. Police have so far arrested 10 persons in connection with the murder in February this year, when the two men were allegedly abducted and killed.
Nasir, 25, and Junaid, 35 — both residents of Ghatmika village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district — were allegedly murdered by cow vigilantes owing allegiance to the Bajrang Dal in neighbouring Haryana. Their charred bodies were found inside a burnt vehicle near Loharu town in Haryana’s Bhiwani district.
Actionable intelligence
Mr. Mishra said the Rajasthan police teams had visited Nuh to investigate the matter and had asked the Haryana police for help. “The main issue is actionable intelligence. If there is intelligence, Monu will be apprehended,” Mr. Mishra said, while refusing to comment on the aspect of cooperation between the police forces of the two States.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has recently accused his Haryana counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar, of diverting attention from his failure to stop communal violence in Nuh by claiming that the Rajasthan police were free to act against cow vigilantes. Mr. Gehlot had said that the Haryana police were not cooperating in the Nasir-Junaid murder case.
Monu, a local Bajrang Dal member, runs a regional network of ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow protectors) and uploads videos on 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 infamous murder case.
