Rajasthan court rejects plea to make 26 cow protectors accused

Gurugram: With the Rajasthan Police’s investigation into the Nasir-Junaid double murder “pending” for a year, a Rajasthan Court has refused to consider 26 cow vigilantes as key accused in the case.

The Additional District and Session Court of Deeg district in Rajasthan rejected the application of the victim’s family to include these vigilantes as accused in the murder case on the grounds that the police were still investigating their role.

Nasir and Junaid, two residents of Ghatmika village in Deeg, were allegedly brutally murdered by cow vigilantes from Haryana. The charred bodies of Nasir and Junaid were found in a vehicle on the Rajasthan-Haryana border on February 16. So far, five accused Rinku Saini, Monu Rana, alias Narendra Kumar, Gogi, alias Monu, Mohit, alias Monu Manesar, and Anil Multhan has been arrested.

The decision has come as major relief for vigilantes who will now be able to take part in the Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh on July 22. These vigilantes had earlier got a diktat from right wing outfits to stay away from the yatra as it could have brought the infamous double murder back in focus.

“We were all being framed and this has come as a major relief. We had no involvement but were witch hunted. The Rajasthan Police have been investigating our roles for the past one year, but got nothing. We will now attend the yatra with our heads held high,” said Shrikant Pandit, one of the 26 vigilantes in question.

Ismail, the brother of Junaid, submitted an application under Section 193 of the CrPC asking to include remaining 26 against whom chargesheet is pending. These include Shrikant pandit, Lokesh Singhla, Vikas Arya, Risal Jevli, alias Natwar, Kalu, alias Krishna, Badal, Shashikant, Kishore, Shivam, Tushar, alias Tannu, Rajveer, Pravesh Boxer, Ravindra, alias Kalia, Sukhwinder, alias Sukhi, Asu Jangra, Ramesh, alias Messa Sissar, Bhola Silani, Manoj Guhana, Yogendra Acharya, Azad Acharya, Deepak Matloda, Sanjay Parmar, Navneet, Bholu, Devilal and accused Kala, alias Hanif.

“The police have been investigating their role and still there is no concrete evidence to show any connection. The court has rejected the application as it is waiting for a police report to elaborate on their role,” said senior advocate Trilok Nath Gupta.