The man accused of inciting a riot after the discovery of over two dozen cow carcasses on a sugarcane field at Mahav village is a law student in his early 20s.
A poster of Akhand Bharat or Undivided India is at the entrance of the way to Yogesh Raj’s residence at the Naya Bans village.
Hailed as a “local hero” who has taken up cow protection, Raj “officially joined” the Bajrang Dal only three years ago following which he was chosen to head its district unit.
“They [the police] are coming after him now when he did nothing wrong but report the horrific killing of mute animals but the same people have rewarded him and commended him in public for his service to the cause of cow protection several times. He has been rewarded for intercepting cow smugglers too,” Geeta, his cousin, says. He also acts against those harassing women, another cousin says.
Not just protecting cows, claimed one of his other cousins Suman, Raj's local clout also emanates from striking fear in the hearts of those harassing local women. The second-youngest among three brothers, both his elder and younger sibling are employed in Gujarat.
“The Bajrang Dal not only looks after cows and ensures that those guilty of illegally slaughtering them are made to confront the law but also also complaints against those harassing or molesting women,” she claimed.
Raj's aunt Bhoori Devi claimed he was appearing for an exam both when the bovine carcasses were discovered and when the rioting was under way.
“We don't deny that he is a member of the Bajrang Dal; but the truth also is that he had left the house at ten am to appear for his exam and returned once around one pm and then again an hour later after which he hasn't returned. He has nothing to do with this incident,” she claimed.
Raj, who approached the police with initial information about the alleged slaughter of 25 cows, said in his complaint that he witnessed the incident.
According to Preeti Kumari, however, on whose sugar cane field the carcasses were discovered, her husband Raj Kumar got word about “cow entrails” on his field around 7 am on Monday following which local residents decided to “bury the remains and the matter.”
“My husband rushed to the field to see what had happened; there were around 25 cattle carcasses there. We knew this matter had the potential to get too big, to get out of hand. So he and the other men from the village decided to bury the remains and the matter then and there,” she claimed.
“But, my husband told me later, someone – he doesn't know who – was against the idea and cautioned us that if we let this happen, if we let our fields and our cows get slaughtered like this, it will happen more often. So they decided to approach the police,” she said further.
