Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, the leader of a cow vigilante group in Mewat, who is in the spotlight after the communal violence that erupted in Haryana’s Nuh and Gurugram districts, denied any link with the clashes and asserted he did not attend the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra that came under attack on July 31.
Talking to the media, thirty-year-old Bajrang Dal leader, Manesar, said that Congress MLA Mamin Khan is responsible for the communal tension in the area
“Congress MLA Mamin Khan is responsible. I work to save cows and I always work along with the administration. But Hindus will not tolerate what happened with them in Haryana,” a report by Hindustan Times quoted Manesar as saying.
Neither did I give any provocative speech, nor did I attend the rally, he reportedly added.
Reports suggest that rumours about Manesar’s presence at the religious procession taken out on Monday in Nuh, during which the clashes broke, had fuelled the violence.
Manesar is an accused in the murder of two alleged cow smugglers in Rajasthan’s Biwandi in February. He has been leading the Bajrang Dal’s campaign against cattle smugglers in Haryana and Rajasthan.
He also reportedly participates actively in efforts against “love jihad”, a term coined by the rightwing to describe the “forcible conversion” of Hindu women by Muslim men. Maneshar gained notoriety in 2019 when he was shot at while pursuing alleged cattle smugglers.
Timeline of Communal ClashesIn Haryana
▶Six people were killed in clashes that broke out during a religious procession in Nuh on Monday, including two home guards and four civilians. Mobile internet services were suspended in Nuh and parts of Gurugram until Wednesday to quell the “intense communal tension”, according to the Haryana government.
▶The Brij Mandal Yatra was flagged off earlier from Gurugram’s Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar. A police contingent was deployed with the procession. Stones were pelted on Yatra in Nuh and at least four cars, part of the procession, were set on fire. Some police vehicles were also damaged.
▶Mobs in neighboring Gurugram district’s Sohna set afire vehicles and a shop that appeared to belong to members of the minority group after the word of the violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh spread.
▶A controversial video that a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh allegedly shared on social media further added to the tensions, according to some reports
▶Additionally, there were rumours that Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante previously detained for the February murder of two Muslim men, whose burned bodies were discovered in the Bhiwani region, was planning to march in the procession.
▶Police also rescued over 2,500 people including women and children from a Shiva temple. These reportedly included devotees and individuals who had sought to stay there as tensions between the two factions began.
▶Thirteen companies of paramilitary forces reached the district, while six more companies were yet to arrive. To prevent any unforeseen developments, Section 144 was implemented in Faridabad, Palwal, and Gurugram.
(With inputs from IANS)
Comments
0 comment