Bulandshahr violence: Army jawan arrested pleads innocence - story so far
The Army jawan arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of an inspector during mob violence in Bulandshahr was on Sunday sent to 14 days' jail, even as the UP government moved out an additional superintendent of police, the fourth police official to be shunted out in the last two days.
The Army jawan arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of an inspector during mob violence in Bulandshahr was on Sunday sent to 14 days' jail, even as the UP government moved out an additional superintendent of police, the fourth police official to be shunted out in the last two days.
Uttar Pradesh DGP O P Singh said that the situation in the district was peaceful now. "Peaceful atmosphere prevails in Bulandshahr. Law and order is good," he told reporters in Shirdi.
The Army handed over the suspect, Jitendra Malik, to UP Special Task Force team in Meerut late Saturday night, officials said.Malik was interrogated by the crime branch during the day and also questioned by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the incident, the city Superintendent of Police (Crime) said.
Earlier in the day, the UP government transferred Raees Akhtar, who was posted as additional superintendent of police (rural) in Bulandshahr, six days after two people died in mob violence in the district following an alleged cow slaughter incident.
Jawan Jitendra Malik AKA Jitu who was handed over by Indian Army to the UP Police on early hours of Sunday in connection with the Bulandshahr violence has denied any role in the entire incident. He has been grilled by Special Task Force of UP Police in Meerut and so far, he has steadfastly denied either shooting the slain cop Subodh Singh or taking an active part in the protest.
Source: ANI
According to Malik, he was merely a curious bystander and had gone to the area to see what the entire fuss was all around. Suddenly, the mob got violent according to the jawan. When asked if he shot the cop, Malik denied outright saying he wasn't carrying his gun. Malik was silent when quizzed about knowing either police officer Subodh Singh or the 20-year-old Sumit, the two people killed in the violence which erupted after discovery of alleged cow carcasses in the area.
Source: PTI
The police have arrested Jitu based on the footage of him being present in the epicentre of violence. When asked who took the video, Jitendra had no conclusive answers and said that many people were recording the incident with their mobile phones.
Source: PTI
The Uttar Pradesh government Saturday transferred Bulandshahr SSP Krishna Bahadur Singh to the DGP office here, five days after two people, including an inspector, were killed in violence following an alleged cow slaughter incident.
The government transferred two other policemen of Bulandshahr -- Circle Officer Syana Satya Prakash Sharma and Chingravati police chowki in-charge Suresh Kumar, based on a violence report submitted by Additional Director General (ADG) Intelligence SB Shiradkar.
Source: PTI
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said the violence in Bulandshahr was an "accident" and there did not happen any incident of mob lynching in his state.
He also said that those responsible will not be spared.
The Congress has slammed Adityanath's downplaying of the severity of an incident of mob violence and said he has attempted to "derail" the probe in the case.
Source: PTI
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sangeet Som on Thursday defended the compensation granted to the deceased accused in the Bulandshahr violence and questioned why nobody raised objections to the provision of compensation to Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi, who was lynched in September 2015.
Speaking to reporters here, Som further said that Sumit, who was killed in the clashes that erupted in Bulandshahr recently, should be punished if found guilty.
"Did you question when Akhlaq was given compensation? He was also an accused. If Sumit is guilty, action should be taken against him. All those involved in Akhlaq's death should be punished but remember that cattle carcass was found from his home," he said.
Source: PTI
On December 3, a mob of some 400 people rampaged through a village in Bulandshahr apparently after cow carcasses were found in a jungle nearby. During the violence, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a 20-year-old man died of gunshot wounds.
Singh and his team had gone to the area to tackle the violence when they came under attack by the mob.
Source: PTI
Inspector Singh, who died in the mob violence, was the investigating officer of the Dadri lynching case from September 28, 2015 to November 9, 2015. However, the chargesheet was filed by a different IO in March, 2016.
Police have arrested nine accused in the Bulandshahr case but the main conspirator, Yogesh Raj, the district convener of Bajrang Dal, is on the run. In a video that surfaced online on Wednesday, Raj had claimed innocence.
Source: PTI
Another inquiry by a government-constituted SIT is underway, and the team is going into the details and video footage of the incident, an official said.
Also, a magisterial probe has been ordered by the government.
The Uttar Pradesh government has been severely criticised by opposition leaders over law and order and for its handling of the situation after the violence.
Source: PTI