Bulandshahr violence: Initial probe finds no hint of conspiracy, sources say

Initial probe in the Bulandshahr violence didn't find hints of any conspiracy in the mob attack that erupted after reports of alleged cattle slaughter surfaced, sources said on Thursday.

Bulandshahr: Vehicles set on fire by a mob during a protest over the alleged illegal slaughter of cattle. Photo: PTI

BULANDSHAHR: Initial probe in the Bulandshahr violence didn't find hints of any conspiracy in the mob attack that erupted after reports of alleged cattle slaughter surfaced, sources said on Thursday. They said police received information about alleged cow slaughter at around 9 am on Monday but any senior official failed to reach the spot even till 3 pm. The probe found that the police didn't take the information seriously, sources added. Had the administration acted on time and disposed of the carcasses found in a jungle, the incident that claimed two lives could have been averted, they said. It was also established that shots were fired on inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and Sumit Kumar from the same weapon. The probe also revealed that 24 cattle were slaughtered in Khurja and a case was also registered against one Arif and his supporters. Also, some 19 incidents of cow slaughter have taken place in Bulandshahr district alone this year. Since March 19, 2017, all illegal slaughter houses had been closed and instructions were issued to all district magistrates and superintendents of police to ensure that such activities do not take place in any of the districts.

On Wednesday, UP Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh said police were investigating the incident as a conspiracy as to why cow carcasses were found on December 3, three days ahead of the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. "We are not only seeing it as a law and order issue. It was a conspiracy and we are probing why the particular day - December 3 - and place on which the cows were slaughtered and their remains spread in the field were selected," Singh had said. Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday met the family members of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was killed in the Bulandshahr violence, and assured them of justice and strict action against the culprits, while the prime accused, Yogesh Raj, a Bajrang Dal leader, was still on the run. Two FIRs registered by police - one over the alleged cow slaughter and the other for the violence that followed. According to Additional Director General (Meerut zone) Prashant Kumar, the protestors from Mahaw village and nearby areas pelted stones on police and indulged in arson, set ablaze several vehicles and Chingarwathi Police Chowki, after some body parts of cows were found in a jungle near the village, prompting the police to open fire. How the violence erupted in Bulandshahr:  ADG Anand Kumar said that according to reports he had received, Raj Kumar, a former chief of Mahav village, had informed the Syana police about the carcasses of five to six cows in his field. Inspector Subodh Kumar was attached to the same police station. “The deceased inspector had gone to the village (around 9am) with (three) other constables and was talking to the villagers when some people loaded the carcasses on a tractor-trolley, took it to the highway, blocked it and attacked the Chingrawathi outpost,” the officer was quoted by the Telegraph, India. “Subodh rushed to the protest site where over 400 villagers from three villages, Mahav, Nayawas and Chingrawathi, had assembled by then. They attacked the police. Subodh suffered injuries and died on the way to hospital. The protesters continued attacking the police and fired from country-made pistols. The police too used force in self-defence.” Earlier, Anand Kumar said there was a presumption that Kumar was hit by a brick but post-mortem reports later confirmed that the police officer had died of a bullet wound. “It is clarified that Subodh Kumar Singh was the investigating officer of the Akhlaque lynching case of Dadri from September 28, 2015, till November 9, 2015,” he told reporters. A video that surfaced on Wednesday, which is believed to have been filmed before Sumit was shot. He, along with some youths, was seen throwing stones on the police. After that, it could be seen that Sumit was shot, possibly in a crossfire and taken to hospital by youths.