“Want Fair Investigation, Strict Action”

Bajrang Dal member and ‘cow vigilante’ Monu Manesar was arrested by the Haryana Police on Tuesday. Manesar who has been accused of inciting violence in Haryana’s Nuh in July month was arrested by the state police for uploading “objectionable and inflammatory” posts under a fictitious name on social media.

A fugitive since February, Manesar is also wanted by the Rajasthan Police for murder of two Muslim cattle traders in January, was nabbed from a Gurugram area Tuesday morning.

Monu Manesar, 28, alias Mohit Yadav was also an accused of inciting the communal violence in Nuh and the adjoining areas on July 31. The violence erupted when a religious procession had an altercation with some youth in the area, which turned violent.

Six people including two home guards and a naib imam (Muslim cleric) were killed, and over 80 others, including many police personnel were injured which led to massive damage to public and private properties.

Manesar had been wanted by the Rajasthan police in a heinous case in which charred bodies of two Muslim cattle traders, namely Junaid and Nasir, were found in a burnt vehicle in a Bhiwani area of Haryana on February 16.

The two victims were residents of Ghatmika village of the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, and were allegedly abducted and burnt to death in Bhiwani district. Manesar had reportedly shared videos of the two, which were later deleted.

While the cow vigilante’s arrest has been anticipated for a long time, The Citizen spoke to the residents of Nuh, who are still reeling with the consequences of violence that killed six people in Haryana.

Mustafa Badar, a resident of Nuh said that he only hopes that a fair investigation takes place and Manesar is given strict punishment.“A fair investigation is mandatory to maintain law and order, so that people don't commit such heinous crimes.

As per reports, Haryana Police will hand over Manesar to the Rajasthan Police. Despite the arrest, there is less enthusiasm among the residents of Nuh. Speaking to The Citizen, A. Khan, a resident of Muradbas in Nuh said that they are not expecting much from this arrest.

“What is going to happen? He is just going to be released from jail like Bittu Bajrangi. We do have some expectations from Rajasthan Police but we also know that the elections are round the corner. They do not want to offend the Hindu population as Manesar has a lot of supporters,” Khan said.

Bajrangi is another Bajrang Dal member from Faridabad who has been accused of inciting violence in Nuh by sharing provocative videos a day before violence broke out on July 31.

According to media reports, Monu Manesar was nabbed by the Haryana police from the Manesar market area in Gurugram district and was presented before a Nuh court where he was handed over to the Rajasthan police towards the evening.

In Haryana, Monu Manesar was also booked for allegedly posting inflammatory video on the social media which allegedly incited the communal violence on July 31. The state police had, however, maintained that Manesar was not present at the said religious procession.

Monu Manesar had also posted a video on social media averring that he was not part of the procession. However, a couple of days before the yatra, the Bajrang Dal member had shared a video saying that he will be present at the procession, which had created tensions in the area. He had also claimed that he was not present there and did not give any “hate speech” that may have led to the violent communal clashes.

Speaking to the media earlier, Superintendent of Police Bharatpur, Mridul Kachawa had said, “We have received information that Haryana Police has detained Monu Manesar, who is wanted in Nasir and Junaid (lynching) case. Haryana Police is carrying out its further procedure and our officers are in contact with them. When their procedure completes, (our) District Police will begin theirs.”

Meanwhile, Indian Express citing sources said that the Nuh Police had been “regularly scanning the social media posts for objectionable content”.

“In one such case, a person was found putting up a series of objectionable posts. Tracing those posts, raids were conducted at certain locations and the person was apprehended. He was found to be Monu Manesar who was using a fictitious name to upload objectionable posts,” Indian Express quoted their source as saying.

Later in the day, a Nuh Police spokesperson said that Manesar had been handed over to Rajasthan Police. Further action will be taken by Deeg (Rajasthan) Police, the Nuh police spokesperson added. Rajasthan Police is investigating him in connection with the killing of Junaid and Nasir’s killing.

Manesar is one of the 21 accused named in the FIR filed in the wake of the murders. According to the residents of Nuh, there was tension after the murder of the traders who were also cousins, as Manesar had allegedly been creating havoc in Nuh for cow traders.

However, his arrest has not satisfied the people. “Muslims have been arrested post violence. In some places, people are still scared because police are conducting raids. I think we can only watch and see what happens,” Khan said.

After Manesar’s involvement, the Haryana chief minister had also held that Rajasthan police was free to act against the accused if he was guilty of any crime. Manesar had, however, repeatedly denied the charges in the Bhiwani double murder case and in the Nuh violence case.