Bulandshahr violence: After a BJP MP backed accused, another takes aim at murdered SHO
Bulandhahr MP Bhola Ram had raised eyebrows by claiming that Bajrang Dal activist Yogeshraj Singh, the main accused in the SHO’s killing and who is on the run, was doing 'noble and eye-opening work'.
Policemen inspect vehicles set on fire by mob during protest in Bulandshahr. (Source: PTI Photo/File)
Days after a BJP MP came out in support of the main accused in the killing of SHO Subodh Kumar Singh following a brutal attack by a mob over the alleged killing of cows in Bulandshahr, another MP from the party, has chipped in, this time to point fingers at the slain policeman. Meerut MP Rajendra Agrawal told The Indian Express Sunday that the team investigating the violence last Monday should also check whether the SHO became a target because the station under his charge allegedly failed to check cow slaughter and cattle smuggling.
“Whatever has happened in Bulandshahr on December 3 leading to the death of the Siana Station House Officer in mob lynching is highly deplorable. But the probe team should also include within its purview why no action was taken by the SHO in connection with the FIR lodged regarding cow smuggling at the Siana police station before the violence,” Agarwal said.
“If cow slaughter has been declared by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a serious crime, then we will have to look into the working of police stations, including Siana, over a broader time period. If we have to uproot the menace of cow slaughter, we will have to look at all aspects, down to the police station level,” Agrawal said.
On Thursday, Bulandhahr MP Bhola Ram had raised eyebrows by claiming that Bajrang Dal activist Yogeshraj Singh, the main accused in the SHO’s killing and who is on the run, was doing “noble and eye-opening work”. “Expressing your support for stricter cow slaughter laws is not a crime. He was doing noble and eye-opening work. He brought to my attention that such an incident has occurred. Rest is a matter of investigation,” the MP had said.
The probe team should also include within its purview why no action was taken by the SHO in connection with the FIR lodged regarding cow smuggling at the Siana police station, said Meerut MP Rajendra Agrawal.
Meerut MP Agrawal, meanwhile, alleged that “some officers” and policemen were posing a hindrance to Chief Minister Adityanath’s “long-cherished dream”.
“Putting a strict check on incidents of cow slaughter in the state is a dream of Yogi Adityanathji but some officers at the higher level and policemen down at the police stations are posing hindrances to the CM’s long cherished dream. I am not saying that all officers are corrupt but there are definitely some who have an agenda to denigrate the image of the BJP government for their vested political and monetary interests,” claimed Agrawal, a former RSS pracharak.
“I have lodged complaints of cow slaughter in areas under the Kithore and Bhawanpur police stations but the higher-ups have not paid any heed to my concerns,” he claimed.
When contacted, the officers in charge of both the stations denied the MP’s claims.
SHO Subodh Kumar Singh
“There have been no reports of cow smuggling in the recent past from areas under my jurisdiction. It’s the privilege of the MP to make such statements and he is free to raise doubts. The police will definitely act if he gives us any specific information,” said Dharmendra Singh Rathore, in charge of Bhawanpur police station.
“We are very sensitive towards cases of cattle smuggling and cow slaughter. We conduct regular raids on suspects in our area. I don’t know why the MP has raised doubts on our functioning,” said Prem Chand Sharma, in charge of Kithore police station.
Last Monday, in an incident that has sparked outrage across the country, a mob attacked and killed SHO Subodh Kumar Singh after accusing him of not paying heed to their allegations of cows being slaughtered in the area.
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