Hindutva supporters attending a mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Palwal district on Wednesday called upon Hindus to emulate Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar, one of the persons accused in the murder of two Muslim men from Rajasthan, reported The Print.
“Monu Manesar is a protector of cows and to protect cows, he has taken bullets of these jihadis [cow smugglers],” Bharat Bhushan, a member of the Hindutva outfit said. “Monu is not a gangster, he is someone who gave his life for the protection of cows.”
Local Bajrang Dal leader Munish Bhardwaj said at the event that Hindus should act like Manesar and his aides to strengthen their community.
The event held at Hathin town of Palwal was attended by more than 400 members, including leaders of the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Hindu Sena, according to The Wire.
Manesar is among the five men booked for allegedly murdering Rajasthan residents Nasir and Junaid, whose charred bodies were found in a car in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on February 16. The families of the two Muslim men have alleged that they were abducted by cow vigilantes.
Of the five accused persons, only one man named Rinku Saini has been arrested so far.
On Tuesday too, a mahapanchayat was held in Haryana’s Manesar district, where the speakers had warned the Rajasthan Police against taking any action against the Monu Manesar. Those who attended the Manesar event asserted that they would not back down “if they have to give or take life” in order to protect cows.
Soon after this event, the Rajasthan Police released a new list of eight persons who were wanted in the case, which did not include Monu Manesar’s name. However, the police said in a tweet carrying the wanted list that he was still under the purview of investigation.
At the Palwal mahapanchayat on Wednesday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Central Joint Secretary Surendra Jain warned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot against arresting any cow vigilante.
“His [Ashok Gehlot] jails will fall short of space,” he warned, reported The Indian Express.
Jain also demanded that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
“Unless a CBI probe is initiated, we will not let the Rajasthan police arrest anyone,” he said. “Just for a few Muslim votes, they are betraying the Hindu society. Your voice should be so loud that it becomes clear to him in Jaipur that his Talibani police cannot do anything.”
Bajrang Dal leader Aastha Maa openly called for violence against Muslims. “If a Muslim man even looks at a Hindu daughter or sister, a skewer will be driven into his eyes,” she said, according to The Wire.
Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, the former president of the Manesar Bar Association, also reiterated his warning to the police against Manesar’s arrest.
“Yesterday in Manesar, we showed the Rajasthan police that if they set foot in Manesar, they won’t return the same way…” he said, according to The Indian Express. “Forget Rajasthan Police, if any police force in India raises an eye at Monu or his family, we will blind them.”
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