JAIPUR/ALWAR: Rajasthan police on Friday arrested from Dehradun two people in connection with the abduction and murder of two Muslim youths from Bharatpur by alleged cow vigilantes in Haryana’s Bhiwani nearly two months ago.
Monu Rana (27) and Gogi (31), held from a hillock near the Uttarakhand capital, are among the eight wanted for the murders of Nasir and Junaid. The men were nabbed after a 20-city hunt across eight states during which some Rajasthan cops posed as cow protectors, making donations and staying in dharamshalas. Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each on Monu and Gogi.
Nasir and Junaid were found charred to death in an SUV near Loharu in Bhiwani, Haryana, on February 16 after they were allegedly abducted and thrashed on suspicion of being cow smugglers. Police had arrested one Rinku Saini, an alleged cow vigilante, on February 17 and named eight others as key accused. The cops suspect 12 more people were involved.
Monu has a confectionary shop near Bhiwani in Haryana while Gogi works as an ambulance driver who ferries injured cows for a Gau Sewa Kendra in the same town.
“Our team had visited the Nepal border, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while we were getting leads,” Gaurav Srivastav, IG, Bharatpur Range, told TOI. “They kept changing their locations and were taking money from local sources. They visited various states to evade arrests,” the IG added.
The pursuit of Monu and Gogi by a 10-member Bharatpur police team was dramatic. To ensure secrecy, the team did not even involve the local police while arresting the two.
“We had inputs that they were staying in charitable dharamshalas run by people engaged in cow rehabilitation in various states. We also visited these areas as commoners,” said additional SP Sidhant Sharma. “We ate at roadside dhabas and participated in kirtans in various dharamshalas,” said another senior officer.
The movements of the team were kept secret. “They were not supposed to interact even with me on a day-to-day basis,” said IG Srivastav.
Monu Rana (27) and Gogi (31), held from a hillock near the Uttarakhand capital, are among the eight wanted for the murders of Nasir and Junaid. The men were nabbed after a 20-city hunt across eight states during which some Rajasthan cops posed as cow protectors, making donations and staying in dharamshalas. Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each on Monu and Gogi.
Nasir and Junaid were found charred to death in an SUV near Loharu in Bhiwani, Haryana, on February 16 after they were allegedly abducted and thrashed on suspicion of being cow smugglers. Police had arrested one Rinku Saini, an alleged cow vigilante, on February 17 and named eight others as key accused. The cops suspect 12 more people were involved.
Monu has a confectionary shop near Bhiwani in Haryana while Gogi works as an ambulance driver who ferries injured cows for a Gau Sewa Kendra in the same town.
“Our team had visited the Nepal border, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while we were getting leads,” Gaurav Srivastav, IG, Bharatpur Range, told TOI. “They kept changing their locations and were taking money from local sources. They visited various states to evade arrests,” the IG added.
The pursuit of Monu and Gogi by a 10-member Bharatpur police team was dramatic. To ensure secrecy, the team did not even involve the local police while arresting the two.
“We had inputs that they were staying in charitable dharamshalas run by people engaged in cow rehabilitation in various states. We also visited these areas as commoners,” said additional SP Sidhant Sharma. “We ate at roadside dhabas and participated in kirtans in various dharamshalas,” said another senior officer.
The movements of the team were kept secret. “They were not supposed to interact even with me on a day-to-day basis,” said IG Srivastav.
