Bulandshahr riot: 300-500 cow vigilantes go on rampage, cop among 2 killed

In Bulandshahr, a police inspector, who had probed the Akhlaq lynching case died of gunshot injuries as a rampaging mob torched a police post

Chaos reigned in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr on Monday over protests against alleged illegal slaughterhouses in the area. A police inspector, who had probed the Akhlaq lynching case initially, and a youth died of gunshot injuries as a rampaging mob torched a police post and clashed with cops. According to eye-witnesses, around 300-500 people had attacked the entire police force.

What led to the violence in Bulandshahr?

The trouble started after villagers found some body parts of the cow and its progeny in a jungle in Mahaw village, according to the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anand Kumar. Angry villagers and members of various Hindu groups brought the animal remains in tractor-trolley to the Chingarwathi Police Chowki and demanded action against the culprits. They raised slogans against the police administration and blocked the Bulandshahr-Garh highway. District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said police and senior officials tried to reason with the protestors but they refused to budge. As Sub-divisional Magistrate Avinash Kumar Maurya arrived on the scene, protesters turned violent, pelting stones on policemen and indulging in arson. District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said police had to open fire in self-defence.

300-500 people attacked police force

Sub Inspector Suresh Kumar, an eyewitness in the killing of Uttar Pradesh Police Inspector Subodh Kumar claimed that around 300-500 people had attacked the entire police force. Kumar said, "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."

Officer who probed Akhlaq lynching case killed, youth killed

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was posted at Siana Police Station, suffered a gunshot injury in addition to wounds from hard and blunt objects, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said, citing the post-mortem report. Inspector Singh was investigating officer in the Akhlaq lynching case of Dadri between September 28, 2015 and November 9, 2015, he said. The mob lynching of Akhlaq over rumours of cow slaughter and possession of beef in his home had triggered a massive outrage across the country. A local youth, identified as Sumit, was shot and immediately shifted to a hospital in Meerut. However, he succumbed to his injuries.

Over 1,000 personnel of anti-riot forces deployed

The Uttar Pradesh government deployed additional police, including over 1,000 personnel of anti-riot forces, and ordered multiple probes by SIT, ADG-Intelligence and a magisterial inquiry.

Rs 5 million aid to slain police officer's family

The state government has announced total of Rs 5 million assistance to the kin of Inspector Singh. 4 million would be given to his wife and Rs 1 million to his parents.

Yogi Adityanath expresses grief from Rajasthan

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths in violence in Bulandshahr and sought a probe report into the incident within two days.

According to an official statement, Adityanath has directed Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) S B Shiradkar to submit a probe report, containing reasons behind the violence and details about the guilty, within two days.

At the moment, the UP CM is in Rajasthan, campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Congress hits out at UP govt

The Congress on Monday hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over violence in Bulandshahr, saying it was the worst kind of failure of law and order and he should set his own house in order before "gallivanting" around the country for campaigning in elections.

Congress' spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, at a press conference, said the failure of this nature in a state like UP was the "worst kind of failure of law and order and governance".

Singhvi slammed Adityanath for "telling other people" to follow his example, saying the chief minister is campaigning across the country and such violence is happening in his own backyard.

"Here is the poster boy of the BJP in terms of good governance... He should first set his own house in order before gallivanting across the country campaigning and preaching others. This is an utter failure of the law and order situation," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that after "handing over" Uttar Pradesh to "anti-social" elements, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is busy campaigning for his party.

"Absence of law and order and violence unleashed by mobocracy is the real identity of BJP governments," he tweeted in Hindi.