Bajrang Dal leader Monu Manesar arrested over Nuh violence

PTI, Sep 12, 2023, 6:31 PM IST

Cow vigilante Monu Manesar was arrested Tuesday in connection with the violence in Haryana’s Nuh district in July, a police official said.

The official said Manesar was sent to 14 days in judicial custody by a Nuh court.

The Bajrang Dal leader was arrested in Gurugram’s Manesar. A video clip that surfaced online showed plainclothesman taking Manesar, whose original name is Mohit Yadav, into custody.

The exact charges against Manesar were not immediately known.

A video clip that surfaced online before the July 31 violence had Manesar (30) saying he would participate in the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek procession and asking people to join the yatra.

Mobs attacked the VHP-led yatra in Nuh. Six people were killed in Nuh and Gurugram in the violence. For days, Nuh and adjoining districts were on edge as authorities clamped prohibitory orders and imposed restrictions on mobile internet.

Asked about the video later, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had said, ”I have seen that video, nowhere is he instigating people to riot… he is asking people to join the yatra.” But the state police said Manesar’s role in the violence will be probed. Nuh Police have booked several other people for making inflammatory remarks on social media.

Manesar is also named in an FIR registered in February by Rajasthan Police after two men, Nasir (25) and Junaid (35), were found dead in a burnt car in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district.

The men from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes who then crossed the state border into Haryana.

Rajasthan Police said last month that Manesar’s role in hatching a conspiracy and abetting the crime was “under active investigation”.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had also told reporters earlier that his government would provide any assistance Rajasthan Police required to nab Manesar.

Varun Sharma, an office bearer in Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Haryana unit, claimed there is no case against Manesar. ”Bajrang Dal workers are being harassed for no reason. We condemn this,” he said.