The Rajasthan Police on Monday said that Bajrang Dal member Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar was not directly involved in the murder of two Muslim men in February.

The police, however, clarified that they had not given him a clean chit and that he remained an accused person in the case.

On February 16, the charred bodies of two men named Nasir and Junaid were found in a car in Haryana’s Bhiwani after they were abducted by cow vigilantes from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur. Ismail, the brother of Junaid, had alleged that the victims were taken to a police station after they were assaulted by the cow vigilantes but the police in Haryana’s Nuh district refused to take them into custody.

In May, the Rajasthan Police filed a chargesheet against three persons, and kept the investigation against Manesar and 27 others pending.

On Monday, Rajasthan Director-General of Police Umesh Mishra said that police were now probing Manesar’s “indirect involvement” in the murders of Junaid and Nasir in February this year.

“The criminals who were present at the spot and were involved in the killing, he [Monu Manesar] is not among them,” Mishra told reporters. “However, we are investigating his indirect role in the killings.”

On whether the Haryana Police were extending cooperation in the investigation, the Rajasthan Police chief said: “We cannot comment on whether the Haryana Police are extending cooperation to us. There are many things that cannot be said publicly. But it is a fact that he [Manesar] has not yet come before us.”

However, the state place later clarified that it has not cleared Manesar’s name from the murder case as was interpreted by several users on social media. “His role in hatching conspiracy and abetting the heinous crime is under active investigation,” the Rajasthan Police said in a tweet.

However, Ismail said on Tuesday that it was incorrect to say that Manesar was not directly involved in the killings, The Print reported.

“He [Monu Manesar] is our killer, he has given instructions to people,” Ismail told The Print. “The evidence is with the police,” Junaid’s brother . “To say he is not directly involved is outright wrong. He has orchestrated the entire killing.”

Monday’s development comes after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on August 2 had said that the Rajasthan government was free to act against Manesar and that his administration would provide any necessary help.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s comments came after a video of Manesar was suspected to have sparked communal tensions in Nuh and other parts of Haryana on July 31. Violence in the state had resulted in the death of six persons, including two home guards and a junior cleric.

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