{"id":146122,"date":"2023-02-14T16:43:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T11:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=146122"},"modified":"2023-02-14T17:07:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T11:37:12","slug":"monu-manesar-a-story-of-violent-vigilantism-in-the-name-of-gau-raksha-armed-with-state-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/monu-manesar-a-story-of-violent-vigilantism-in-the-name-of-gau-raksha-armed-with-state-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Monu Manesar: A story of violent vigilantism in the name\u00a0of\u00a0‘gau-raksha’, armed with\u00a0state\u00a0support"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Bhaiyo yaha pe ek samadhan hona chahiye. Jo bhi Love Jihad karte hai, unki list humein de. Hum aur humari team unko maarenge bhai, khulla. Na toh hum kisi case se darrte hai kyunki naam toh main lena chahta nahi lekin apne bade bhai yaha baithe bhi hain wo hamari pairvi full karenge koi dikkat nahi hai aur jo Love Jihad karega, jo humari behan betiyon ko chherega, unko maarne ka kaam sirf aur sirf hum, humari team aur humari yuvasaathi karenge. Unse apna koi compromise nahi hai jo apni dharm pe ungli uthwane denge. Unko sirf aur sirf maarne pe hi hamara samadhan hoga, nahi toh koi samadhan nahi ho sakta. Yeh bhaashano se samadhan nahi hoga, unko maarna padega bhai. Jai Sri Ram!”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Brothers, we should find a solution here. Give us a list of names of people who indulge in ‘Love Jihad’. Me and my team will beat them up openly. We are not afraid of police cases because our big brother is sitting here. I don’t want to name him, but he will have our back. Those who will indulge in ‘Love Jihad’, those who will tease our girls, we — our team and our young associates — will beat them up. We won’t compromise with those who will let fingers be pointed at our religion. The only solution is to beat them up. There is no other way to deal with this. Speeches will not work. They have to be beaten up. Jai Sri Ram!)<\/p>\n

Rounds of applause and a collective cheer erupted as Monu Manesar left the podium after making an open call for violence at the Hindu Mahapanchayat<\/a>\u00a0in Haryana\u2019s Pataudi on July 4, 2021. Monu<\/a>, who leads a team of approximately 50 cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks <\/em>in the Gurugram-Rewari-Nuh region, had earlier been introduced by the host as someone \u201cwho shoots and gets shot while protecting cows\u201d.<\/p>\n

[vimeo https:\/\/vimeo.com\/798335835]<\/p>\n

Monu Manesar has made such open calls for violence not once but on many occasions. In November 2021<\/a>, he issued violent threats against Muslims in the form of slogans at Gurugram’s Sector 12. \u201cHindu ke gaddaaron ko, Goli maaro saalon ko<\/em>” (Translation: Shoot the traitors of Hinduism) thundered Monu and other saffron-clad Hindutva compatriots, amid children who also chimed in. The gathering was meant to register a protest against Muslims offering namaz in public places on Fridays.<\/p>\n

Recently, Monu made headlines after the death of a man named Waaris<\/a> in Haryana’s Nuh area. Waaris’s family accused Monu of chasing and attacking Waaris and his associates, Nafis and Shaukeen, on suspicions of cow smuggling in the early hours of January 28. The claims were refuted by the police who gave a clean chit to Monu. According to the law enforcers, the car that Waaris and his associates were travelling in crashed with a tempo on the Tauru-Bhiwadi Road in Haryana on Saturday around 5 am and the three suffered grave injuries. Waaris later succumbed to his injuries at the government medical college in Nalhar.<\/p>\n

The police statement, however, has gaping holes in the chain of events. According to their statement, Monu’s team went live on Facebook after nabbing Waaris and his associates. A clip seemingly from the Facebook live-stream (which has since been deleted), purportedly shows Waaris and his two associates being questioned about their names and respective villages. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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The family member told that his video was made before the lynching. “We saw in the video that my son was brutally thrashed. My child had died, it was later revealed to us.” pic.twitter.com\/UCVjczfTNv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) January 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn the video, it is clear that he has no serious injury. He is answering questions normally. How did he later succumb to internal injuries?” asks<\/a> Waaris’s elder brother Imran.<\/p>\n

Who is Monu Manesar?<\/h4>\n

Mohit ‘Monu’ Manesar is a polytechnic diploma holder who claims that his true calling in life is saving Gaumata\u00a0<\/em>and protecting his Dharma<\/em>. Monu and his team are actively involved in capturing alleged cow smugglers and handing them over to the police. Speaking to Alt News over phone, Monu talked about the deciding moment in his life when he realized that cow-vigilantism should be his true calling. “While returning home from college one day, my friends and I chanced upon a truck full of cow remains with blood dripping from it. We stopped the truck and informed the police. Two persons belonging to the Muslim community were apprehended. This was when I realised that Gaumata\u00a0<\/em>and our D<\/em>haram\u00a0<\/em>were being dishonoured.”<\/p>\n

Often, Monu and his team live-stream the process of chasing a vehicle that is suspected of illegally carrying cattle. After the ‘smugglers’ are nabbed, Monu and his team post several images of the rescued cattle and the accused on their social media pages as ‘conquests’. They also add an image of the entire team in all its glory, with some of the members standing atop trucks and some even carrying firearms.<\/p>\n