The Rajasthan Police have announced ₹5000 reward each for any information leading to the arrest of the eight people accused of abducting and beating two Muslim men to death in Haryana.
The charred bodies of Mohammad Junaid, 37, and Nasir, 27, were found inside a car. The families of the two have accused members of the Bajrang Dal of the grisly murders that sparked an outcry and a political tussle.
Police superintendent (Bharatpur) Shyam Singh on Monday said they have so far arrested one Rinku Saini in the case while eight identified accused are absconding. He added five teams of the Bharatpur Police were camping in Haryana and conducting raids with the help of local police to arrest the accused.
Singh said they have also sent a proposal to the inspector general (Bharatpur range) for increasing the reward. “We are sure that all absconded accused will be nabbed soon. Police are getting inputs about them.”
The Rajasthan Police have said the investigation in the case pointed to the involvement of cow vigilantes in the murders.
The eight absconding suspects do not include Mohit Yadav or Monu Manesar, a Bajrang Dal leader in Haryana’s Manesar district who was originally named in the First Information Report.
Manesar is one of the faces of cow vigilantism in Haryana. He has denied his involvement in the case. In a video released shortly after the incident, he condemned the killing and said his team was not involved. Two “Hindu Mahapanchayats” have been held in Haryana in support of him.
Investigators said Junaid and Nasir were accosted, kidnapped, and assaulted on February 15. They were taken to at least two police stations in Haryana’s Firozpur Jhirka but were turned away.
