Bulandshahar has turned into a violent tinderbox after carcasses of cows were allegedly discovered by Hindus. As we have reported earlier, the Police allegedly turned a blind eye to people’s complaints following which the protesting crowd turned violent.
As per reports, protesters had gathered outside a police station claiming that they had discovered carcasses of cows in their locality. Angered with police inaction even after repeated complaints, they clashed with the police.
The police, as per reports, opened fire at the protesters. It is claimed that the police was forced to open fire after the protesters attacked them with stones. In the chaos, inspector Subodh Kumar Singh lost his life. A youth, Sumit, too, succumbed to injuries.
As per an eyewitness account of a Policeman who was trying to help Singh, he was forced to abandon the now deceased officer to save his own life. He said, “Sir was lying near the boundary. I managed to get him into the vehicle. The moment the vehicle started to move, the mob attacked us. We could hear chants of “Catch them! Beat them!” all around us. When everyone started to flee, even I jumped off and fled. There were bullets flying around but it wasn’t reaching us.”
According to reports, two FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence thus far. One is against the alleged cow slaughter and the other is against the perpetrators of the violence.
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27 people have been named in the FIR, 60 unnamed people have also been mentioned.
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Prashant Kumar, ADG Meerut Zone, has stated that an SIT inquiry has been formed to investigate the violence and to ascertain why police personnel left the deceased police officer alone. Main accused, Yogesh Raj, contrary to early media reports has not been arrested or detained. He is absconding right now as per the press conference held by police.
Sub-Inspector Suresh Kumar, who was injured as well, has claimed that 300-500 people had attacked the Police Force. He told ANI, “The crowd jammed the road and started throwing stones at the Police. There were around 300-500 people. The entire police force was attacked. I got hurt myself and after that, I do not know what happened.”
There are conspiracy theories floating around as well. Some prominent persons have been alleging that the deceased police officer was murdered because he was an investigating the Akhlaq lynching case. However, the inspector, Subodh Kumar Singh was the investigating officer only till 9th November 2015. He was later transferred to Varanasi and the charge sheet was filed in March 2016 by a different investigating officer. Singh was not investigating the case when he was killed yesterday.
Today, the police has clarified that there is no merit in the allegations that the policeman was slain because of his connection to the Akhlaq case. They have also denied reports of any sort of connivance of the police as alleged by the family.
Rapid Action Force has been deployed in the area and section 144 has been imposed. According to a report by ABP News, a retired army soldier is believed to have shot inspector Singh.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has announced compensation for the family of the deceased police officer. The late police officer’s wife will receive Rs. 40 lakhs as compensation, his parents will receive Rs. 10 lakhs and a kin of his will be given a government job.
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A 19-year old student has also died during the violence at Bulandshahar. Sumit Kumar Dalal was pursuing his B.A. degree from Amar Singh College Lakhaoti. The young Sumit was rushed to Anand Hospital at Meerut by family and Police where he was declared dead on arrival.
A political battle has also ensued in the state following the violence. UP Minister O.P. Rajbhar, who had previously told Yogi Adityanath not divide Gods along castes after the latter’s statement was misreported by the media, has come out and said that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy by Hindu organizations.
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Controversial Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has asserted that the presence of cow carcasses at Bulandshahar should also be investigated.
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The possibility of massive political implications of the violence is extremely likely. There have also been reports of clashes between Hindus and Muslims who were returning from their ijtama. Things are still unclear as of now, more is expected to be known after the SIT officer submits his report tomorrow.
The police held a press conference and gave an update on the investigations. They said that Yogesh Raj’s family was also questioned in attempts to track him. They also asserted that the situation in Bulandshahar is now inching towards normalcy and they are to submit the SIT report in 48 hours.
Note: Contrary to media reports, main accused Yogesh Raj of Bajrang Dal has not yet been arrested or detained. He is currently absconding and the police is trying to apprehend him.