Haryana violence: Vigilante Monu Manesar at the centre of row
The communal clashes are believed to have been triggered by three videos released on social media – two by Monu Manesar and another by Bittu Bajrangi
Mohit Yadav, 28, better known as Monu Manesar, could not be arrested for over five months despite being named (along with 21 others) in the abduction and killing of two cattle traders, Junaid and his cousin Nasir, whose charred bodies were found in a burnt car in Rajasthan’s Bhiwani on February 16.
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Manesar, who heads the cow vigilante wing of Bajrang Dal in Haryana, is now at the centre of Monday’s communal violence during a procession led by right-wing outfits Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Haryana’s Nuh that later spread to Sohna and Gurugram, claimed at least five lives, and left over 50 injured.
The communal clashes are believed to have been triggered by three videos released on social media – two by Monu Manesar and another by Bittu Bajrangi, also a cow vigilante – between Sunday and Monday. In one of the videos, Monu Manesar can be heard announcing that he will reach Nuh to participate in the procession on Monday (July 31) and urging people to visit temples in Mewat region in large numbers.
The procession, while ostensibly religious, was also meant to be a show of strength. Bittu Bajrangi in his video is also heard making derogatory remarks. A few videos challenging Monu Manesar and threatening him to face consequences if he reached Nuh also emerged on social media from accounts having Muslim profiles.
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Haryana police officers say they suspect that the videos infuriated several Muslim residents in the Nuh and Mewat region and prompted them to gather in large numbers in Nuh town and resort to violence during which they pelted stones, vandalised and torched private as well as police vehicles, and allegedly surrounded a local temple where several Hindus, police personnel and media professionals took shelter to save their lives.
The officers said that the clashes were ignited by rumours that Monu Manesar had arrived and joined the procession. However, he did not turn up for the event on the advice of the VHP, which feared that his presence would create tension.
According to the officers, the violence began 10 minutes after the procession of 3,000 to 4,000 people started to walk from Edward Chowk in Nuh town around 2pm.
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The Hindu processionists initially fled, but then regrouped and retaliated.
While the videos emerged at least a day before the scheduled procession, which had all requisite permissions from the police, the local administration made no attempts to remove them or ensure that they did not trigger violence, said residents of Nuh; they added that no efforts were made to take Monu Manesar into custody.
Senior officers from the Haryana police said Manesar has been at large since Rajasthan police booked him in the abduction and murder case of the two Muslim cattle traders and another case was registered against him at Pataudi, Haryana in connection with rioting and other serious charges. They said they did not know when and where Monu Manesar shot the videos and from where they were uploaded.
“Several raids have been conducted at his house in Manesar village and other possible hideouts by Rajasthan and Haryana police in the past to arrest Monu Manesar. However, he was never found at these places. He has remained underground since February, when his name surfaced in the two murders. Our teams are still making efforts to nab him,” said a senior Haryana officer, who asked not to be named.
Bharatpur superintendent of police Mridul Kachhawa said, “Monu Manesar is under investigation, though we can’t say whether he is guilty or innocent. We have arrested three accused and are trying to arrest more culprits who absconded (in the February lynching case). The role of Monu Manesar will be clear after arresting other accused, their interrogation and investigation.”
Son of Om Prakash, a private school bus driver, Monu Manesar was born in Nuh village in 1995 and was married at the age of 19. He is the father of an eight-year-old boy. He is said to be a polytechnic diploma holder and joined the Bajrang Dal during his second year of college. He has risen to prominence over the course of the past five years as a leading figure in the cow protection task force implemented by the Haryana government in Gurugram. A locally influential person, Monu Manesar’s photos with political leaders, police officials and bureaucrats have surfaced in the past.
His YouTube page called “Monu Manesar Bajrang Dal” had over 200,000 subscribers and nearly 330 videos till it was taken down. Most featured high-speed chases; some boast of a gunfight; some showed him and his men standing victoriously next to a group of men they have apprehended, like game they have hunted. The first uploaded video was dated January 18, 2017. In October 2022, Monu Manesar received a silver play button from YouTube for crossing 100,000 subscribers on his channel, which now seems to have been taken down from the platform.
Monu Manesar’s name made headlines in 2019, when he was shot at while chasing cattle smugglers. He has been absconding since his name emerged in the abduction and killing of Junaid and Nasir in Bhiwani, Rajasthan. He has denied any involvement in the Bhiwani killings. At least two “Hindu Mahapanchayats” happened in Haryana in his support and demanded that his name be dropped from the FIR on the two murders.
After close to 100 days, the Bharatpur police named Monu Manesar in the Bhiwani murders. On February 22, the police named nine accused Rinku Saini, Anil and Srikant Pandit from Nuh, Kalu Jaat from Kaithal, Kishore from Karnal, Monu and Gogi from Bhiwani, Vikas and Sashikant Sharma from Jind. A reward of ₹10,000 each was announced by the police.
A forensic report confirmed that the charred bodies and blood stains found in the SUV recovered from a cow shelter in Jind were of Junaid and Nasir.
