Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said those behind the killing of two men, whose charred bodies were found in Haryana's Bhiwani district after they were abducted from Bharatpur, deserve death penalty and that his government is committed to bring the culprits to book at the earliest.
Nasir (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35), both residents of Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes on February 15 and their bodies were found inside a burnt car in Loharu in Bhiwani in Haryana on the morning of February 16.
The chief minister also announced a relief package of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the victims after meeting them at a temporary arrangement made near a helipad in Ghatmeeka village.
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"The state government will provide Rs 5 lakh compensation each to the wives and children of both the deceased. An amount of Rs 1 lakh each will be provided as cash whereas a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh each will be done so that the dependent families do not face any problem in the education and marriage of the kids," he told reporters.
Nasir is survived by his wife, while Junaid is survived by his wife, six children and a mentally challenged brother.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Education Zahida Khan had earlier announced Rs 5 lakh each assistance for the families of the victims besides Rs 50,000 each extended by the Panchayat Samiti Pahari.
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“Both families will also be provided Rs 1.25 lakh each as interim assistance besides connecting them with various public welfare schemes,” a statement by the government said.
Talking about the probe into the incident, Gehlot said, "We are working in a way that the accused involved in the case are arrested and sentenced to death. Whether it is the Udaipur incident or this one, those who commit such crime deserve nothing less than death penalty.”
He was referring to the murder of a tailor in Udaipur last year over a controversial social media post. Kanhaiya Lal, 48, was killed by cleaver-wielding men -- Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad -- at his shop on June 28 last.
The chief minister also said that he will talk to his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar to take the incident with utmost seriousness. For this, DGPs of both the states are in talks, he said.
"I myself spoke to the chief minister of Haryana who assured me help in getting the people involved in the incident arrested. Even after so many days, these people have not been caught.
"The way the victims were abducted and beaten, and later taken to a police station in Haryana, but they (police) denied taking them into custody. No one knows what happened next with the victims... how they were beaten and set on fire. Only the skeletons remained, what can be worse for the family, villagers, society and the citizens of the state," he said.
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A total of nine people, including Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar who runs a cow protection group, and Srikant Pandit, whose mother lodged a complaint against the Rajasthan Police, have been named in the case so far.
The accused have been booked under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 365 (kidnapping), 367 (grievously hurt after kidnapping) and 368 (wrongfully keeping in confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Two more IPC sections -- 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) -- were later added, police said.
Junaid had a criminal record of cattle smuggling and five cases were registered against him at different police stations, they said.
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-With PTI Input
