For 15 hours, cow vigilantes moved with injured Rajasthan men: Police

Top police sources told The Indian Express that two groups — one from the Mewat region comprising areas of Haryana and Rajasthan, and another from Jind-Bhiwani-Karnal in Haryana — were allegedly involved in the killings of Junaid and Nasir.

The police are investigating the probable involvement of more such groups as part of their probe in the case registered on charges of abduction and murder, they said.

According to Rajasthan Police, the involvement of at least a dozen more suspects, apart from the nine accused whose roles have been confirmed so far, is being investigated. Bharatpur IG Gaurav Srivastava told reporters that the Scorpio in which the cow vigilantes took the two victims was traced to a “gaushala (cow shelter)” in Haryana’s Jind.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior police officer said, “In our investigation so far, we have found that two groups of cow vigilantes were involved in the crime. One group, comprising accused Rinku Saini, Anil and Shrikant, operates in the Mewat region. On February 15, it was working in tandem with another group that comprised accused Monu Rana, Kalu, Vikas, Shashikant, Kishore and Gogi. The second group is active in Jind-Bhiwani-Karnal areas of Haryana.”

Eight of them featured on a list of wanted accused released by the Rajasthan Police on Wednesday, excluding Saini who has been arrested. The name of Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, who was earlier named as an accused, wasn’t on the list but the police maintained that he is still a suspect.

“The two vigilante groups apprehended Junaid and Nasir on the morning of February 15. But they couldn’t find any cows with the two men. They then beat the two severely before entering Haryana. Thereafter, things went out of hand. Within two hours of picking the men up, they went to the Haryana police to hand them over. But seeing the grievously injured men, the Haryana police refused,” the officer said.

“Starting from the morning of February 15, the cow vigilantes kept moving in Haryana for 16-17 hours till the bodies were burnt. The accused vigilantes were driving a Scorpio. The Bolero, which the victims were driving before they were apprehended, was also being driven by the vigilantes till midnight when the bodies of the two men were set on fire in Haryana’s Loharu along with the Bolero,” said the officer.

Bharatpur IG Gaurav Srivastava described the Scorpio as “very crucial evidence in the case”.

“That white Scorpio vehicle was being driven by two of the accused. Technical evidence has traced that vehicle’s movement to Jind and Bhiwani. We have traced and recovered the vehicle from the compound of Shree Somnath Gaushala in Jind. The vehicle was seized in the presence of Haryana police and blood was found on the seats of the car, which probably belonged to the two deceased who were assaulted,” the IG said.

According to Srivastava, the police obtained more details of the incident “from the interrogation of Rinku Saini, who was arrested before”.

“It is necessary to verify the claims of the accused… We moved forward on the basis of technical investigation, CCTV footage, call detail records, etc. Apart from Rinku Saini, eight more people have been identified and their involvement in the incident is clear. Apart from Rinku, two more people are already named as accused in the FIR — Anil, resident of Multhan, and Shrikant, resident of Maroda,” he said.

Srivastava said the role of the six other accused from outside Mewat are being investigated: Kalu from Kaithal; Monu Rana and Gogi from Bhiwani; Vikas from Jind; Shashikant from Karnal; and, Kishore from Gharaunda.

Rajasthan ADG (Crime) Dinesh M N said that Junaid and Nasir were picked up from the Piruka-Naugaon area in Rajasthan by the vigilantes. Sources said investigators are also trying to trace the journey of the vigilantes from Jind to Loharu, about 145 km apart, in Haryana.