Bhiwani: Another day, another Hindu mahapanchayat in Haryana. The same message of “Hindu unity” and “cow protection”, but attendees down to a trickle.
The third and latest Hindu mahapanchayat in support of those accused in the alleged killing of Junaid and Nasir — two Rajasthan men whose charred remains were found last week — was held in Bhiwani Thursday.
The bodies of the duo were found in Bhiwani as well. The accused include several cow vigilantes from Haryana, including Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar of Haryana.
At the previous mahapanchayats, held Tuesday and Wednesday at Gurgaon and Palwal, the speakers spoke about their distrust in the probe being conducted by police in Rajasthan, a Congress-led state. Allegations of police assault on the family of one of the suspects — Shrikant Pandit — were also made as thousands chanted “Jai Shri Ram”.
The event at Bhiwani too echoed with the same chants, but the audience comprised just about 100 people. These included members of the Bajrang Dal and the Gau Raksha Dal.
Even so, the speakers reiterated that there was a need for “Hindu unity”, and demanded a fair investigation. They urged the “Hindus” to come together to “defeat the Rajasthan Police and uncover their conspiracy”.
“You Hindus, if you can’t fight for the cows, at least support those who are fighting. They need your support,” said Sanjay Parmar, president of the Gau Raksha Dal in Bhiwani.
Calls were also made for compensation to the family of Pandit, with the speakers alleging that his full-term pregnant wife suffered a miscarriage when Rajasthan Police “barged into” their Nuh residence and “thrashed the family” (Rajasthan Police have denied the allegation).
“If Shrikant is an accused, arrest him but what has his wife done? What had his unborn child done? They (Rajasthan Police) killed them. We demand a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job for the family,” said RSS member Pardeep Kumar, a resident of Bhiwani.
Meanwhile, frightful descriptions were offered of Mewat, a region in Haryana dominated by Meo Muslims.
It was described as a place of “jihadis” where “everyone is armed”.
“Have you seen Mewat? No? I will tell you. Once you enter Mewat, you will be welcomed by bullets. The people of Mewat rain bullets. But we gau rakshaks fight them,” said Parmar over the mic.
According to Rajasthan Police, Bharatpur residents Junaid and Nasir were abducted, beaten up and burnt to death. Only one suspect has been arrested so far, with the other suspects — most of them from Haryana — on the run.
Also Read: What happened to Junaid-Nasir: Rajasthan Police say duo assaulted by 2 groups of gau rakshaks
‘Monu Manesar has worked for cows’
Among the attendees of the Bhiwani mahapanchayat, most who spoke to ThePrint claimed they were either unemployed or attending the event after bunking classes.
Mohit (22), who had a bag in his hand, said he joined the mahapanchayat because his friends were also attending. However, he expressed sympathy for Monu Manesar and the others accused, saying they were innocent. He said the case against them was a conspiracy by the Congress government of Rajasthan to “malign the image of cow vigilantes”.
“Monu Manesar has worked for the betterment of cows. He has taken bullets for ensuring that cows are safe. Such a man should not be maligned,” Mohit added.
A 24-year-old Bajrang Dal member, Jatin, said he wanted to work for the welfare of the cows and the country.
“Whenever I work for the betterment of cows, I feel a different kind of satisfaction. People can speak, but cows cannot,” he said, adding that he wanted to work for the Hindu religion.
The Rajasthan Police, which had earlier booked Manesar and a few others from Haryana in the case, Wednesday announced the name of eight accused after investigating the lone suspect arrested so far, Rinku Saini.
While the name of Manesar was not in this list, two youths from Bhiwani — Monu (separate from Monu Manesar) and Anil — were included.
Distancing himself from the two accused from Bhiwani, RSS member Kumar said the duo were earlier a part of the Gau Raksha Dal but had left the organisation. He said Monu Manesar was the victim of a conspiracy.
“Earlier, they (Rajasthan Police) accused Monu Manesar of being involved in the death but now, in the new list, his name is missing. Why? The ones who are really involved, arrest them. Not the ones who have no association with the incident,” Kumar added.
The panchayat, which went on for 3 hours, ended with slogans praising the Hindu deity Hanuman, as well as cows and cow vigilantes.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: ‘Sabko Monu banna padega’ — thousands attend 2nd Hindu mahapanchayat for ‘gau rakshak’ Manesar