Gehlot accuses the chief minister of Haryana of deflecting attention away from the problem of intercommunal violence
In response to Manohar Lal Khattar’s recent assertion that Rajasthan police were free to arrest Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot went to Twitter on Thursday. Gehlot slammed the Haryana police for their lack of cooperation in the inquiry into the murder of two Muslim men, Junaid and Nasir, and characterized Khattar’s comments as an effort to deflect attention from the escalating violence in Haryana.
The remains of Junaid and Nasir were discovered burnt inside a car in Haryana’s Bhiwani region. Their family say that Bajrang Dal members were responsible for their kidnapping, beating, and murder; the group has refuted this assertion. The Haryana police filed a FIR against the Rajasthan police team when they traveled to the Nuh area in Haryana to arrest the suspects, notwithstanding the Rajasthan police’s ongoing investigation.
Gehlot emphasized that Khattar’s assurances of help for the Rajasthan police were hollow platitudes and that the lack of cooperation from the Haryana authorities had slowed down efforts to identify the suspect. According to media sources, the CM charged Khattar of ignoring the violence in Haryana and deflecting attention with such utterances.
Three films posted on social media by Monu Manesar and fellow cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi have increased tension in Haryana. In one video, Monu Manesar can be heard asking locals to take part in a parade and visit Mewat’s temples, which intensifies local communal conflicts.
The dispute was exacerbated by Gehlot’s mention of the FIR that was filed in February against Rajasthan police officers. The family of Shrikant Pandit, a member of the Gau Rakshak Dal, filed the FIR after complaining that Rajasthan police had broken into their house and beaten Kamlesh Pandit, who was nine months pregnant, resulting in a miscarriage.
