While uncertainty prevails in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh four days after a police inspector and a youth were killed in mob violence that started due to rumours of cow slaughter, IG Crime SK Bhagat told India Today that “the carcasses found in Bulandshahr, which became the root cause of violence in the area was actually 48 hours old.”
The prime accused in the Bulandshahr violence, Yogesh Raj, said in his FIR that he witnessed the slaughter of cows in the village on December 3 and found carcasses in the farms, which aggravated the tempers of villagers thus leading to the subsequent violence.
“According to preliminary investigations, carcasses recovered from ground zero were at least 48 hours old. Investigation is on and things will be clearer once probe is completed,” SK Bhagat told India Today.
His version suggested that the Bulandshahr violence was intentionally perpetrated by some outfits in order to disrupt the communal harmony of the area.
Sources in the SIT probing the violence said they were probing all possible angles and it seemed that there was an attempt to create communal tension.
The police on Tuesday summoned two 10-year-old boys from Nayabaans village after their names came up in the FIR filed by prime accused Yogesh Raj for the illegal slaughtering of a cow.
Family members of the two boys blamed right-wing Hindu organisations of dragging their children’s names into the matter.
“These outfits are not even sparing kids to polarise society and create communal tensions in the region. We want to thank inspector Subodh Kumar, he averted what could have been another Dadri,” one of the boys’ family members said.
Police have arrested Saifuddin from Nayabaans village for his alleged involvement in illegal cow slaughter as claimed by Yogesh Raj and other men involved in Monday’s rioting.
“It is a planned conspiracy. One day before the clash took place, Yogesh Raj [the prime accused] mobilised people and provoked them against Muslims living in the village,” a member of Saifuddin’s family said.
Speaking to India Today TV, his wife rubbished the allegations. “We can’t even think of slaughtering cows,” she said. “The allegations are baseless.”
A pall of gloom hovers over 20-year-old Sumit Kumar’s house. Sumit died in the mob lynching on Monday. His elder brother told India Today TV that Sumit had a dream of joining the Army as an officer.
“On the day of the clash, Sumit went to drop a friend off but never returned. He had nothing to do with the violence or cow slaughter but he still became a victim of mob violence, which should never have happened,” he said.
Wrinkles of concern can be seen on Yogesh Raj’s family members’ faces. The Bajrang Dal leader’s family members told India Today TV that he is being made a scapegoat.
“Our son was a member of Bajrang Dal. He gave everything he had for cow protection. We could never imagine that his social work will be turned against him,” a family member said.
The family says they have no idea where Yogesh is or whether he will ever return. Meanwhile, a post mortem report of Inspector Subodh Kumar, who was shot dead in the mob violence, is out. It revealed a bullet injury on the head.
The doctor who prepared the report said, “Subodh Kumar was fired at from a distance of six-seven feet.”
Kumar was cremated on Wednesday at his ancestral village in Etah district. Thousands attended it.
His son, Shrey, told India Today TV that the family has only one demand – that those who killed his father should be brought to justice.
The deceased inspector’s sister-Manisha-alleged that some people had been threatening Subodh for some time.
Previously, he had investigated the mob lynching case of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri. Officials in Lucknow said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will meet the slain inspector’s family on Thursday.
By evening, there were reports that a video of the main accused had surfaced of him claiming his innocence.
[“source-indiatoday”]
