Haryana govt hands over Mewat double murder case to CBI

The Haryana government today handed over to CBI the murder case of a couple and the alleged gangrape of two girls in Mewat district last month in which their kin had suspected the role of cow vigilantes.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the proposal to transfer the case to the central investigating agency, an official spokesperson said.
"Keeping in view the demand of the complainant and sentiments of public at large, it was decided to transfer the investigation to the CBI," the official said.
The Haryana Police had come under criticism following the brutal incident that took place in a house located near Manesar-Palwal expressway in a village in Mewat on August 25, prompting it to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.

On August 28, the police had arrested four youths who had allegedly barged into the family's house and first killed the couple, who were 40 years of age, with sharp edged weapons and then injured six other members of the family, all of whom were sleeping in the house located near the fields in the village.
They had also ransacked the house, an isolated structure located in the middle of farmland, and fled with valuables, including cash, police had said earlier.

The injured included two women, aged 18 and 22 years, who were allegedly sexually assaulted by the assailants. They were relatives of the couple, according to police.

After committing the crime, the accused had tied the injured with ropes and escaped from the spot. Some residents living nearby found the injured after which the police had been informed about the incident.
The family of the victims had alleged that they had informed the police personnel about the suspected cow vigilantes but they chose to ignore it.
"They (attackers) asked us 'you eat cow meat?'. We said 'no'. They then said 'you eat cow meat'. They said 'we are killing you because you eat cow'.
"We told this to the police but they are not doing anything," one of the two victims had claimed.

However, the police had said they did not find any evidence supporting the claim.
Yesterday, BSP president Mayawati had lashed out at the Haryana Chief Minister for terming the Mewat gangrape and double-murder case as a "small issue" and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take note of "anti-woman" mentality of a "person occupying such a high post".