On December 3, a police inspector from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district and a youth were killed in clashes that broke out in Shyana area over alleged cow slaughter. Since then there have been several speculations flying thick around the entire incident. Amidst this, an FIR has been registered against seven people including two minors for their alleged involvement in cow slaughter. Meanwhile, four people have also been charged for the violence that resulted in the death of two. However, the main accused, a district convener of the Bajrang Dal, is still on the run.
According to The Wire, on Monday, an inspector-rank officer, Subodh Kumar Singh, who was an investigation Akhlaq lynching case, and a 21-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist, Sumit, were killed in clashes that erupted after a small skirmish, but soon turned into the riot-like situation.
Soon after the incident, the kins of the inspector blamed the Uttar Pradesh police for the death of the inspector. While speaking to the ANI slain cop’s sister said, “My brother was investigating the Akhlaq case and that is why he was killed. It’s a conspiracy by the police. He should be declared a martyr and a memorial should be built. We do not want money.”
She also blamed the UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath for the ‘deteriorating’ condition of the state. She said that the CM only talks about “cow, cow, cow”, while the law and order situation in the state deteriorates.
Sister of Policeman Subodh Singh:My brother was investigating Akhlaq case&that is why he was killed,its a conspiracy by Police.He should be declared martyr and memorial should be built. We do not want money. CM only keeps saying cow cow cow. #Bulandshahr pic.twitter.com/ohILXKCj3w
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 4, 2018
UP CM’s calls for action on cow slaughterers
The claims of the inspector’s sister do not seem unsubstantiated. A day after the incident, on Tuesday night, Yogi Adityanath held a high-level meeting with the chief secretary, director general of police, principal secretary (home) and additional director general of police (intelligence) over the issue.
The high-level meeting was followed by Yogi’s order to probe the case and to find out the perpetrators behind the alleged cow slaughter. The order said, “Tough action needs to be taken against those who carried out cow slaughter.” However, the release did not mention anything about the killings, as reported by The Wire.
CM Yogi gave directions, to take strict action against those involved in the alleged cow slaughter. The official statement further said, “The incident is part of a bigger conspiracy, and hence all those directly or indirectly related to cow slaughter should be arrested in a time-bound manner.”
According to the reports, until now it is not clear that if there is any decision taken to act against those responsible for the killing of the inspector and the youth.
Following this, the opposition has raised several questions on the priority of the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The opposition said that the CM seems to be more worried about catching cow slaughterers than the killers of a policeman, reported India Today.
However, UP CM has announced a compensation of Rs 50 Lakhs to the family. According to the NDTV, a compensation of Rs. 40 lakh has been announced for the wife and a sum of Rs. 10 lakh for the inspector’s parents. It has also been announced that a government job for one member of the family of Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh would be provided.
#BulandshahrViolence: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to meet family of Police inspector Subodh Singh in Lucknow tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/yNGCjlWWOr
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2018
Meanwhile, Amit Shah also commented on the incident, calling it “unfortunate”.
BJP President Amit Shah on #Bulandshahr violence: It is an unfortunate incident, an SIT has been formed and they are investigating. It shouldn’t be politicized, everything will become clear when the SIT files its report. pic.twitter.com/w9fsg96EOA
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2018
Fir against minors
According to The Quint, FIR has been registered against seven residents of Nayabans village for the alleged cow slaughter. The seven people who are charged in the case including the two minor aged 11 and 12 belongs to the Muslim Community.
The FIR was registered on the day of the incident, at the Chingrawathi police post. According to the several villagers of Nayabans, apart from the two minors, the remaining five accused were not even present in the village at the time of the incident, according to Scroll. The complaint was launched by the District Chief of Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal, Yogesh Raj who is a prime accused in the killing of inspector Subodh Kumar.
While talking to the Quint, the father of the minor said, “I was taken to the police station where they kept me for almost four hours. Do you think these kids can do something like what they have been accused of?”
Father of a minor named in alleged cattle slaughter FIR: The name of my son came up in the FIR. We were sent to the police station, they took our IDs but no interrogation was done. At the time of incident we were at Ijtema. #Bulandshahr pic.twitter.com/u1BRx3hWGP
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2018
A bigger conspiracy
According to the local people the clashes were planned before, and it was a part of the conspiracy. According to The Wire, the incident took place at the time when lakhs of Muslim were travelling to Bulandshahr since December 1, for a Tablighi Jamaat’s ijtema (A religious occasion for the Muslims).
However, earlier the Uttar Pradesh police had debunked the moving rumours of any communal angle. The police said that there is no link with the three-day religious congregation for which many Muslims had gathered in the city.
In a tweet, the Bulandshahr police said, as reported by The Indian Express, “Please don’t spread misinformation. This incident is not linked to the Ijtema procession in any way. The Ijtema concluded peacefully. The current incident happened 45-50 kilometres away from where the Ijtema was held. Some rowdy elements are the perpetrators of this incident.”
With the new developments coming up, on Wednesday the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police OP Singh said that the Bulandshahr clashes that erupted on December 3, were part of a “big conspiracy”.
UP DGP O P Singh: The incident in #Bulandshahr is a big conspiracy. This is not only a law and order issue, how did the cattle carcass reach there? Who brought it, why & under what circumstances? pic.twitter.com/Zs2YQZw4br
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2018
What happened that day?
The incident took place when a few people started to protest in the area after they found the alleged carcass of a cow in the field, said the District Magistrate to The Indian Express. Allegedly, the mob was also protesting against illegal slaughterhouses, reports The Quint.
The District Magistrate further said that the protestors had blocked the roads in the area after the carcass of a cow was found. Following this, the police were informed about the incident. When the police reached the spot to get the roads opened, some unknown people started pelting stones at the at the police.
According to The Indian Express, the inspector, Subodh was again attacked while he was being taken to the hospital. The inspector died before he could be treated.
Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: Cop Among Two Killed In Clashes Over Cow Slaughter Rumour
