Brother of cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi set ablaze, fights for life with 60% burns

New Delhi, December 14: Mahesh Panchal, aged 32 and brother of cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi, is battling severe injuries, sustaining 60 per cent burns after an appalling incident. Four unidentified men allegedly doused him with petrol and set him on fire near Baba Mandi in Faridabad early Thursday. The attackers reportedly confirmed Panchal's relation to Bajrangi before perpetrating the brutal act.

Bajrangi, himself embroiled in controversies for his role in communal violence in Haryana's Nuh and Gurugram, asserted that the assailants targeted Panchal once his identity was confirmed. Subsequently, they fled the scene, leaving Panchal in critical condition. Authorities reported that the attackers escaped in a car, prompting an extensive search aided by CCTV footage scrutiny to identify them. A case has been registered against the four assailants, and investigations are underway, as confirmed by Assistant Police Commissioner Aman Yadav. Panchal, with severe burns, has been shifted to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital for treatment.

Following the attack, Panchal rushed indoors, where his family extinguished the flames and took him to a nearby hospital. Bajrangi asserted that the assault was an act of vengeance against him due to his involvement in cow protection activities and his efforts to prevent cow smuggling.

Bajrangi, leading the Goarakshak Bajrang Force, had previously faced charges related to rioting, assault, weapon exhibition, and dacoity regarding the communal violence in July. His alleged involvement, along with another cow vigilante, Mohit Yadav or Monu Manesar, in disseminating incendiary videos that exacerbated communal tensions, led to their arrest among 292 others connected to the violence.