Expressing grief over the alleged killing of two men, both residents of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, by cow vigilante groups from Haryana, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the victims were abducted from Rajasthan, beaten up and taken to a police station in Haryana, where they should have been provided protection but the police there did not take them under custody.
Gehlot, who met the families of the deceased Junaid (35) and Nasir (27), expressed grief and termed the incident “barbaric.”
The duo were allegedly abducted by two groups of cow vigilantes from Haryana on February 15 and their charred bodies were found in a burnt Bolero jeep in Bhiwani the next day. More than a dozen others are under scanner for their possible role in the case, according to police.
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The CM also announced ₹5 lakh each for the wives and children of the victims. The families of the victims had claimed that the two were beaten and murdered by members of the Bajrang Dal – a claim rejected by the outfit.
Addressing the media persons in Ghatmika village in Bharatpur on Thursday, the CM said, “The incident was heart-wrenching and cannot be explained in words. They were abducted and beaten, taken to Haryana police station and were not provided protection there. No one knows what happened with them next, how they were beaten and set on fire…only the skeleton remained, what worse can be than this for a family, villagers, society and the citizens of the state.”
Gehlot said he spoke to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar about the incident and that Kahttar assured strict punishment to the accused. However, Gehlot said, even after so many days, the accused are still on the run. “On this occasion, I want to appeal to the Haryana CM to take this incident seriously,” said Gehlot.
Expressing grief, Gehlot said that there is no limit to the pain of the family members. “After the incident, the family members came to Jaipur, I met them and assured them of support and justice by arresting the accused,” he said.
Gehlot said this incident is also being discussed across the country like the Udaipur incident. “Efforts are being made to arrest them and ensure that they are given a death sentence. The people who are behind such incidents should be sentenced to death,” said Gehlot.
“I saw that there are six children of Junaid and Nasir has one adopted child. I have decided that each (children and wives) will be given a fixed deposit of ₹4 lakh, and ₹1 lakh cash, so that when they grow up, it will help in studies and marriage. The government will take care of the family members,” he added.
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When asked about the law that prohibits cow slaughter being followed here, the CM said the law sometimes gets broken and sometimes the constitution and democracy are scraped across the country. “The journalist and authors are put behind the bar,” he said.
In this case, the FSL report has confirmed that the charred bodies and the blood stains found in the SUV recovered from a cow shelter in Jind are of Junaid and Nasir. Meanwhile, police have arrested one, and released names and photos of eight others for the alleged killing of two Muslim men from Bharatpur. In addition, over a dozen people are still under suspicion including Monu Manesar and Lokesh Singhla.
