Went on pilgrimage, not hiding from cops, claims Monu Manesar, who is a suspect in Nasir-Junaid murder case
Junaid and Nasir had gone missing on February 15 this year and a day later, their charred bodies were found in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. They were allegedly killed by cow vigilantes who suspected them of carrying cattle illegally, but when they did not find any, they assaulted and burnt the duo.
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Monu Manesar Days after his name figured among a list of suspects in the Nasir-Junaid murder chargesheet filed by Rajasthan Police, Monu Manesar claimed he was not evading police but was on a pilgrimage in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
“I had not gone anywhere. I was visiting temples across different states. Why would I hide from police when I’ve not done anything?” said Monu, who is head of Gurgaon district’s cow protection force and a member of the civil defence team of the district administration in Manesar. Sitting at a gaushala after resurfacing a few days ago, he said, “I haven’t got a notice from any police, Rajasthan or Haryana. If they call me for questioning, I will cooperate.”
Junaid and Nasir had gone missing on February 15 this year and a day later, their charred bodies were found in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. They were allegedly killed by cow vigilantes who suspected them of carrying cattle illegally, but when they did not find any, they assaulted and burnt the duo. As per Bharatpur police, chargesheet was filed against Rinku Saini, Monu Rana alias Narendra Kumar, and Gogi alias Monu in a Kaman court on May 16. The IG had said investigation has been kept pending against 27 others — including Monu Manesar — under CrPC 173 (8). Rajasthan Police said they have deployed intelligence units to zero in on the absconding accused. “We sent notices but no one has appeared before us so far. If we are able to track any of the suspects named in chargesheet, we will proceed with our investigation,” said an officer.
Asked if he knew the main accused Rinku, Monu said he is affiliated with Bajrang Dal. “I know him well as he also rescues gau mata. I don’t know what happened that night, but they were trying to protect cattle,” he said.
When pointed out that no cattle was found, he claimed, “Junaid has five FIRs against him for cow smuggling, what else was his motive? His tower location was time and again in Haryana.” He was quick to add, “I came to know about this from the news, after the incident.” He went on to claim he does not know Junaid or Nasir. “I got to know from the news that they are major cow smugglers… Even though my name is in the suspect list, it is not in the interrogation account,” he claimed.
Monu claimed there is a decrease in cow smuggling in Nuh due to efforts by Haryana Police: “SP (Nuh) Varun Singla has been very proactive to curb such incidents. Since he formed many teams for this, we give tip-offs and police take over.”
SP Singla, however, said the need to engage with cow vigilantes has reduced as they have formed their own units. “Over the last seven months, there have been fewer cases of cow vigilantes intervening as we have our own sources now for tip-offs,” he said.
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