Palwal: Loud chants of “Jai Shri Ram” rang out as thousands sat on green mats in the afternoon sun to support Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar and others from Haryana accused in the murder of Junaid and Nasir — two Muslim men from Rajasthan allegedly killed by cow vigilantes last week.
The location was Hathin town in Palwal district Wednesday, and the event was a ‘Hindu mahapanchayat’ at the Anaj Mandi in support of Monu Manesar and the other accused. The event was marked by a heavy police presence — with hundreds of personnel deployed at the venue.
“Hum sabko Monu, Rinku, Shrikant banke yeh kaam karna padega and majboot hokar ke ek saath Hindu samaj khada ho jayega (We all have to become Monu, Rinku and Shrikant and do this work and a strong Hindu society will take shape),” local Bajrang Dal leader Munish Bhardwaj said.
Other speakers termed the case “false”, alleging a “conspiracy” against gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes). They also demanded that the probe into the deaths of the two Muslim men be transferred to the CBI.
This was the second Hindu mahapanchayat organised in Haryana in support of the accused — the first was held in Manesar Tuesday.
Among those in attendance were local residents, along with members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
“Five of our people have been falsely booked in the case and to protect these guardians of our religion, even if we have to shed blood, we are ready to do that and fight the Rajasthan government,” said Bhardwaj.
He added: “In Mewat, our gau mata (cow mothers) are being killed. Those who call gau rakshaks ‘gundas (goons)’, please hear us. When the administration fails in its duty, gau rakshaks will take to the streets.”
Other speakers at the mahapanchayat said Manesar, Shrikant Pandit and Rinku Saini were named in a “false FIR” owing to their efforts to thwart the “cattle smuggling nexus operating along the Haryana-Rajasthan border”.
Local khap leader Arun Zaildar demanded a complete ban on cow slaughter and warned the police in Congress-led Rajasthan to refrain from politicising the issue.
“Monu Manesar is a protector of cows and to protect cows, he has taken bullets of these jihadis (cow smugglers). Monu is not a gangster, Monu is someone who gave his life for the protection of cows,” said Bharat Bhushan, another Haryana-based member of the Bajrang Dal.
Issuing an open warning to the Rajasthan Police, former district president of the BJP in Gurugram, Kulbushan Yadav, said, “If someone even raises an eye at the family of Monu Manesar, we will pull their eyeballs out.”
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‘FIR reads like film script’
Lashing out at the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan and the state police, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said, “The case has been deliberately registered in Rajasthan so that the police can commit genocide at Gehlot’s behest.”
He said the two Muslim men killed were “cow smugglers” with cases against them and a reward on their heads. He told ThePrint Wednesday, “Two skeletons were found in Bhiwani and without investigating, it was said that they belonged to these two men. And then, Bajrang Dal was dragged into it. If you read the FIR, it appears like the plot of a movie. All the five people accused in the case are not from the Bajrang Dal. But whosoever will fight for Hindutva, we will accept them.”
During the gathering, Jain also warned the Rajasthan Police against making any attempts to search the homes of the accused. “Don’t repeat the mistake or else, like yesterday in Manesar, you will have to run backwards.”
Jain was referring to the earlier Hindu mahapanchayat where speakers warned the Rajasthan Police to arrest Monu Manesar, who is on the run, at their own risk. The gathering coincided with raids by a team of the Rajasthan Police on Monu’s residence in Manesar that were cut short.
Seeking the transfer of the probe to the CBI, speakers at the mahapanchayat in Palwal also demanded that no arrests be made till the investigation into the deaths of Junaid and Nasir is complete. They also sought an apology from Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot for “targeting cow vigilantes and members of the Bajrang Dal”.
Jain alleged that the kin of accused Shrikant Pandit were “assaulted by Rajasthan Police, causing his pregnant wife to lose her unborn child”. This was followed by raginis (folk songs) to mourn the death of the unborn child.
“Police went to Shrikant’s house at 3 in the morning. They beat up his mother, two brothers and father and his pregnant wife was pushed to the ground, resulting in the death of her child. The Rajasthan Police is not ashamed and is claiming that they never entered the house. Entire country is angry and the mahapanchayat is the result of that,” Jain said.
Gaurav, a local resident who had come to the mahapanchayat to show his support for Monu Manesar, said with folded hands, “He (Monu) is an innocent man who has helped the Haryana Police crack down on cow smugglers. To stand with such a man is my duty as the cow is our goddess.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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