Haryana Cops Arrest Nuh Riots Accused Monu Manesar, Rajasthan Gets His Custody

Cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who was wanted in connection with the murder of two men from Rajasthan and for inciting.

The violence in Nuh in July, was arrested by the Haryana Police on Tuesday. He was produced in a court amid heavy security arrangements and his custody has been given to the Rajasthan Police.

Around 10.30 am, the Bajrang Dal activist was arrested from Manesar in Gurugram district in connection with the Nuh violence case. His arrest was under sections of the Information Technology Act, and a pistol and three live rounds were recovered from him.

Police personnel, equipped with modern weapons, took Monu Manesar to the Nuh district court in a convoy of about half-a-dozen vehicles. The court initially sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

The Rajasthan Police then pointed out to the court that Manesar is a key accused in the murder of two Muslim men from their state, whose bodies were found in a car in Haryana in February. They sought custody of the cow vigilante, which was granted. He will now be produced in a court in the state on Wednesday.

Nasir, 25, and Junaid, 35, who were residents of a village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes on February 15. The next day, their bodies were found inside a car that had been set ablaze in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani.

“Our colleagues in the Haryana Police have informed us that Monu Manesar has been detained. After their legal procedures are complete, we will begin our procedure,” Mridul Kachawa, superintendent of police of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, had said earlier in the day.

Manesar is also accused of inciting the violence that broke out in Haryana’s Nuh in July, in which at least six people were killed. The violence had begun on July 31, during the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’ organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and then spread to adjoining areas, including Gurugram.

Rumours of Manesar attending the Yatra had allegedly triggered the communal clashes. The cow vigilante, who was on the run in the murder case, had posted a video a few days before the procession, claiming that he would attend it. He had also exhorted his supporters to come out in large numbers.

This had allegedly enraged some people from the Muslim community, who viewed it as a threat, and triggered a heated exchange on social media.

Manesar’s aide, Bittu Bajrangi, had also been arrested in connection with the violence last month and was later granted bail.