A cow vigilante and one of the accused in the Nasir-Junaid murder case threw himself in front of a running train in Palwal, Haryana.

Lokesh Singla died by suicide after allegedly being harassed by members of the Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal. Before his death, he recorded a video naming four individuals – Hakim Singh, Bharat Bhushan, Anil Kaushik Yadav, and Harkesh Yadav – who, he said, threatened to frame him in a false case.

Brothers Nasir, 25, and Junaid, 35, were abducted on suspicion of cow smuggling, murdered and burnt to death by a group of cow vigilantes led by Bajrang Dal leader Monu Yadav alias Monu Manesar on February 16, 2023. Their charred bodies were found inside a burnt car on the Rajasthan–Haryana border near Bhiwani district. The case sparked national outrage. After widespread shock and condemnation, the main accused Monu Manesar was arrested.

The deaths of Junaid and Nasir left a void in their families. In 2024, unable to bear the loss of her father, Junaid’s 14-year-old daughter Parwana passed away. She died of a heart attack at the hospital.

“It was the grief… Parwan could hardly speak and her health had started deteriorating after her father’s death,” said Ismail, Junaid’s cousin.

“Parwana often asked us these questions: What had my father done? Why was he killed? When will he come back home? But we didn’t have any answers,” Ismail told The Print.