The sight of Hindutva brigades being garlanded with lurid, triumphant receptions upon their release from incarceration—having been detained for the murder or brutalisation of Muslims—has ceased to be a shocking spectacle in the socio-political landscape of North India; instead, it has evolved into a recurring ritual of communal self-assertion.
The recent release of Monu Manesar, a Hindutva activist accused in the 2023 dual homicide of two Muslim men by cow vigilantes in Haryana, served as the latest iteration of this grim pageantry, as he was greeted by the rhythmic thrum of drumbeats and the adulation of supporters upon his transit to his native village in Gurugram.
Manesar walked out of Bharatpur Central Jail on Saturday evening after the Rajasthan High Court granted him bail in connection with the case.
The case pertains to the deaths of 25-year-old Nasir and 35-year-old Junaid, who had gone missing on February 15, 2023, and whose charred bodies were discovered the following day inside a burnt vehicle in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district, an episode that drew national attention and intensified scrutiny of cow-protection vigilantism.
Investigators alleged that the two men were intercepted by cow vigilantes who suspected them of transporting cattle illegally, although police later indicated that no cattle were found in their possession, and that the assailants allegedly assaulted the victims before setting the vehicle ablaze in an attempt to obliterate evidence of the crime.
A Bench of the Rajasthan High Court led by Justice Anil Kumar Upman granted bail on March 5 after observing that Manesar had remained in custody for more than two years and that none of the 74 prosecution witnesses had been examined during that period, thereby indicating that the trial was unlikely to conclude in the immediate future.
The petition constituted Manesar’s second attempt to secure bail in the case registered at Gopalgarh Police Station under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to abduction, wrongful confinement and grievous assault, while an earlier application had been rejected by the High Court in January last year.
During the hearing, defence counsel led by advocate Ashvin Garg argued that their client had been falsely implicated and that he stood on a comparatively stronger footing than co-accused Anil Kumar, whom they characterised as the principal accused, adding that Manesar had already been acquitted in two earlier criminal cases and had obtained bail in another.
Prosecutors, however, including Public Prosecutor Vijay Singh and senior advocate Syed Shahid Hasan appearing for the complainant, opposed the bail plea while emphasising the gravity of the allegations and the seriousness of the evidence on record, yet the court refrained from commenting on the merits of the case while allowing the application in view of the prolonged custody.
The court directed Manesar to furnish a personal bond of ₹1 lakh along with two sureties of ₹50,000 each, and ordered him to appear before the trial court whenever required while marking his presence at the concerned police station once every three months until the trial concludes.