Charred bodies case: Owaisi targets Cong and BJP, meets bereaved families

Jaipur: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday alleged that "delay" by the Rajasthan government in acting on the missing complaint lodged by the family members of the two men in the Bharatpur case allowed the accused to flee the state.

Owaisi also met the families of Junaid (35) and Nasir (25) whose charred bodies were found in a car in Haryana after the two men from Bharatpur district of Rajasthan were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes.

The Hyderabad MP also alleged that such incidents occur because "BJP supports and shelters such organisations due to which police do not take immediate action against them".

The Rajasthan Police had on Friday arrested one of the five persons linked to the Bajrang Dal named in the FIR lodged at Gopalgarh police station.

"Had the Rajasthan government taken immediate action on the missing complaint related to Junaid and Nasir, then they (abductors) would have not been able to cross the Rajasthan border," Owaisi who is on a two-day tour of the state told reporters in Alwar district.

He said it was a painful incident.

"If the BJP keeps sheltering such radicals then it is not right for the country. These incidents occur, only and only, because the BJP helps such organisations, gives them strength and shelters them due to which police and administration do not take immediate action," Owaisi alleged.       

He said that it is not a matter of Muslims, but of all those people who believe in rule of law and the Constitution.

"Nobody has the right to take the law into their hands otherwise where will be the need for police, administration and courts," he said.

Later in the day, Owaisi met the grieving family members of Junaid in Ghatmeeka village to express condolences.

"Junaid had six children and his elder brother, who is mentally challenged, had seven children. He had the responsibility of all the children. One murder has orphaned 13 children. It is a matter of regret that police of Haryana and Rajasthan have given free hand to these goons, terrorists and criminals," he told reporters in Ghatmeeka village.

Haryana and Rajasthan police should arrest such gangs and put them in jail, he said and also targeted the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also addressed a public meeting in Kaman town as a part of his party's campaign for Assembly elections. Owaisi said that he is overwhelmed by the support of the people of Bharatpur.  He said that his party will fight the assembly elections with full strength and emerge victorious.

Junaid had a criminal record of cattle smuggling and five cases were registered against him at different police stations, a police officer said.

The last rites of the two, who were related to each other, were conducted on Friday after authorities announced financial assistance of Rs 20.5 lakh to each of the affected families.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday demanded a CBI probe into the matter and alleged that the Bajrang Dal's name was being dragged into the case due to "political bias".

Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP.

On the victims' families alleging the Bajrang Dal's role in the killings, the Rajasthan BJP said it is not justified to malign an organisation before the investigation is completed.

"Whether the accused have links with the Bajrang Dal or are cow vigilantes, it is a matter of investigation. It is not justified to malign any organisation. It will be better if the police take action against those who are guilty," state BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma told reporters on Friday. PTI AG RT