Bhiwani death case: Mahapanchayat in support of Monu Manesar, 'cops' chased away from village

Bhiwani death case: A maha panchayat organised at Manesar in support of Monu Manesar, an accused in the alleged abduction and killing of two men, on Monday threatened to thwart any attempt by the Rajasthan Police to arrest him without "solid proof". Villagers claimed, two "policemen" on a motorcycle had reached the house of Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar but were chased away by them.

Angry protesters also blocked traffic briefly on the Delhi-Jaipur highway before police reached the spot and persuaded the villagers to withdraw. After the maha panchayat at Baba Bhishma Temple, a memorandum addressed to President Droupadi Murmu was submitted to the assistant commissioner of police of Pataudi, demanding the cancellation of the FIR against Monu Manesar registered by the Rajasthan Police and a CBI probe into the matter.

"The Gurugram police should assure that Monu Manesar's family will not be touched. No cop will visit their home without prior information, otherwise they will not go back alive," said advocate Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a leader of a Hindu outfit.

In case of any loss of life or property of Monu Manesar and his family, the government and the district administration will be responsible, the memorandum stated.

Committee formed 

A 10-member committee was also formed for the safety and security of the family of Manu Manesar. Speakers at the mahapanchayat claimed that a false case has been registered against Manesar, a Bajrang Dal leader and member of a self-proclaimed cow protection team, and that the Rajasthan Police does not have any concrete evidence.

They alleged the FIR was part of a conspiracy and demanded its cancellation within 24 hours. They also demanded a fair investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They said Monu Manesar was not on the run and would appear whenever the administration called.

Story so far

The mapanchayat, attended by more than 200 people from different villages and Hindu outfits, lasted around three hours. "If the Rajasthan Police arrests Monu Manesar without solid evidence, a big movement will be organised. Also the Rajasthan Police should stop harassing Monu Manesar, other colleagues and his family without any evidence. The inhuman behaviour of Rajasthan Police which forcibly entered Srikant Pandit's house in Maroda village in Nuh will not be tolerated," said Devinder Singh, the district general secretary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Monu Manesar and Srikant Pandit are among the five people initially booked in the abduction-and-murder case. Four more accused were later named in the FIR. Only one of the nine accused has been arrested so far. Nasir (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35), both residents of Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes on Wednesday and their bodies were found inside a burnt car in Loharu in Bhiwani in Haryana on Thursday morning.

The Haryana Police on Tuesday registered a case against 30 to 40 unnamed Rajasthan Police personnel on a complaint by a woman that her pregnant daughter-in-law lost her child after she was allegedly assaulted by them during a raid to nab her son Srikant Pandit. Following the complaint of Dulari Devi, an FIR has been registered under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 452 (house-trespass) and 312 (causing miscarriage) of the Indian Penal Code at Nagina police station here, the police said.

“We had exhumed the body of the stillborn baby whose postmortem was conducted by a board of doctors on Monday and the final report is awaited. Following the complaint of Dulari Devi, an FIR has been registered against unnamed cops of Rajasthan police," Varun Singla, Superintendent of Police of Nuh, told PTI. The Rajasthan Police has denied Devi's allegation.
Four of the five men initially named in the FIR registered after the alleged abduction and murder of two Muslim men from Rajasthan have turned out to be either informers or complainants in cases filed by the Haryana Police in the past few weeks against suspected cow smugglers.

In its FIR lodged on February 16, the Rajasthan Police named five accused -- Anil, Shrikant, Rinku Saini, Lokesh Singla and Monu Manesar -- on the basis of the complaint lodged by the victims' family. Later, four more suspects' names were added to the FIR registered at Gopalgarh police station in Bharatpur. According to the FIRs registered recently against suspected cow smugglers at Ferozepur Jhirka and Nagina police stations in Haryana's Nuh, Rinku, Lokesh and Srikant are described as informers while Monu Manesar, a member of Bajrang Dal, is a complainant in an FIR registered at Sector 9A police station in Gurugram. Rinku Saini has been arrested by the Rajasthan Police.

(With inputs from PTI)

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