Men found charred in car: Raj Police detains half a dozen people, searching for Bajrang Dal leader
Jaipur/Gurugram, Feb 17: The Rajasthan Police has detained half a dozen people and is searching for a Bajrang Dal leader and his associates in connection with the death of two Muslim men from the state whose charred bodies were found in a car in Haryana after they were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes, police said on Friday.
It is being investigated whether the deaths were a fallout of cow vigilantism, they said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident and said police have been directed to take strict action in the matter.
Nasir (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35), both residents of Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, were allegedly abducted on Wednesday and their bodies were found inside a burnt car in Loharu in Bhiwani on Thursday morning.
The families of the deceased alleged in their police complaint that the people who abducted the two men were from the Bajrang Dal.
"Half a dozen people have been detained and are being interrogated. Those named in the FIR are associated with the Bajrang Dal but whether they were involved in the crime or not is yet to be ascertained," Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Gaurav Srivastava told PTI.
Junaid had a criminal record of cattle smuggling. Five cases were registered against him at different police stations, the officer said.
One of the key accused in the case is Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, the Gurugram district president of Bajrang Dal and a member of a self-proclaimed cow protection team. He was earlier named in an attempt to murder case registered at Pataudi police station in Gurugram on February 7.
The police forces of Rajasthan and Haryana are trying to nab him. "Our crime unit and police station teams are searching for accused Monu. We hope he will be arrested soon," said Manbir Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Manesar.
While on the run, Manu Manesar released a video message claiming his innocence in the latest case.
"My colleagues and I have no role but Rajasthan Police registered a case against me and my group members. I don't even know the deceased," he said.
"At that time of the incident, I was in a hotel in Gurugram with my team members. I also share the CCTV footage of the hotel which showed our presence in the hotel. We were booked by the Bharatpur police wrongly and it is only a conspiracy to defame my team and my organisation," he added.
Superintendent of Police of Bharatpur Shyam Singh said an FIR has been registered at Gopalgarh police station against five people -- Anil, Srikant, Rink Saini, Lokesh Singhla and Monu -- on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victims' family members and teams have been formed to nab the accused.
The accused have been booked under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 365 (kidnapping), 367 (grievously hurt after kidnapping) and 368 (wrongfully keeping in confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he said.
Asked about the involvement of cow vigilantes in the incident, the SP said it is a matter of investigation.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday demanded a CBI probe into the matter and alleged that the Bajrang Dal's name was being dragged into the case due to "political bias".
Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP.
Reacting to the allegation, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said, "It seems that without preliminary investigation, the Rajasthan Police have assumed that the names taken by the smuggler's brother are responsible for the incident."
The VHP leader termed the incident "extremely unfortunate" and demanded that a CBI probe be ordered into the case, saying "the society in the state doesn't expect justice from the Rajasthan government which suffers from political bias." The Congress is in power in Rajasthan.
VHP leaders in Gurugram held a press conference and strongly condemned the registration of the case against the Bajrang Dal members.
Taking to Twitter, Gehlot condemned the killing.
"The killing of two residents of Bharatpur's Ghatmeeka's village in Haryana is condemnable. Rajasthan and Haryana police are coordinating with each other for the probe... Rajasthan Police has been directed to take strict action," the chief minister said.
Education Minister Zahida Khan reached Ghatmeeka village to take stock of the situation.
On the victims' families alleging the Bajrang Dal's role in the killings, the Rajasthan BJP said it is not justified to malign an organisation before the investigation is completed.
"Whether the accused have links with the Bajrang Dal or are cow vigilantes, it is a matter of investigation. It is not justified to malign any organisation. It will be better if the police take action against those who are guilty," state BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma told reporters.
A local resident had alerted Bhiwani police about the burnt SUV on Thursday.
Police said they identified the owner of the vehicle as Aseen Khan from the chassis number of the car.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
