Cop among 2 dead in UP''s Bulandshahr amid violence over alleged cow slaughter

Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, December 3

A police inspector and a 20-year old villager were killed in Bulandshahr on Monday after clashes broke out between villagers and police following the discovery of reported cow meat in the fields of a former gram pradhan at Mahav village.

Violent villagers damaged a police picket, smashed around 15 vehicles parked in the police compound and set ablaze three to four police vehicles.

Heavy police force has been rushed to the district from neighbouring Aligarh and Noida. Five companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and six additional companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) are patrolling the district, said ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar.

Five policemen, including the Syana Circle Officer Satya Prakash Sharma, have also been injured in the incident.

Speaking to the media, the ADG (L&O) said taking a serious view of the incident Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instituted three probes.

The first inquiry to be conducted by ADG (Intelligence) will examine the entire incident about the reported cow slaughter and recovery of meat causing angry villagers to indulge in brick batting and firing. It will submit its report within 48 hours.

A SIT has also been set up to probe the killing of Syana Station Officer Subodh Kumar Singh and Sumit, a 20-year-old resident of Chigrawati village, and related cases.

The SIT would be headed by IG of Meerut Range Ram Kumar and would have 3 to 4 members said ADG (Law and Order).

The third would be a routine magisterial probe to be ordered by the Bulandshahr district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha.

Sharing the sequence of events the ADG (L&O) said around 10.30 am former gram pradhan of Mahav village Raj Kumar arrived at Syana police station to complain about chunks of suspected cow meat lying in his fields.

Syana station officer Subodh Kumar Singh arrived at the spot along with this team where angry villagers had already gathered in large numbers.

After much persuasion, the SO convinced the angry villagers that an FIR would be filed against named and unnamed people and appropriate action would be taken.

The police were already in the process of sealing the recovered chunks of meat for forensic examination when some mischief makers took hold of the meat, loaded it on a tractor-trolley and moved towards Chigrawati police post, said the ADG.

He added that the villagers blocked the main Syana road before the Chigrawati police post. The Syana CO and SO were on the spot interacting with the villagers asking them to allow the police to do their job.

"By that time around a crowd of 400 people from the neighbouring villages of Chigrawati, Mahav and Naya Bans had gathered and started indulging in brick batting. They attacked the police team, set vehicles ablaze in a free for all the continued between 12 to 1.30 pm," said the ADG.

He said the police retaliated by resorting to mild lathicharge and firing in the air. The villagers also indulged in firing from countrymade guns while the police and villagers ran for cover.

Kumar said SO Subodh Kumar Singh was probably hit by a stone and was immediately rushed to Bulandshahr where he succumbed to his injuries.

"The post mortem report says that he died of excessive bleeding due to injury from a blunt object," said the ADG. 

Villager Sumit was killed by a bullet wound. "The postmortem report would confirm the bore of the weapon and establish if it was a police weapon or he was killed in a cross fire by the villagers," said Kumar.