Inspector Subodh Kumar was killed in mob violence when the people of Bulandshahr were protesting against the alleged slaughter of cows.
The New Leam Staff
On Monday, December 3rd 2018, a Station House Officer (SHO), Subodh Kumar Singh and a twenty year old local youth were killed in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.The SHO was investigating a case to find the culprits who killed cows in Mahaw district of Bulandshahr.
A huge clash broke out when villagers from Mahaw district carried carcasses of cows in tractors, found in the jungle area of the village. The angry villagers reportedly belonging to Bajrang Dal claimed that they saw around 8 to 9 men killings cows near the village in the field.
The Bajrang Dal members said that after witnessing the killing of cows their religious sentiments were hurt as cows are auspicious in Hinduism. These men carried the carcasses of the cows in tractor trolleys and took them to the Chhingarwahi Police Station in Syana, where the SHO was posted and was on duty. The angry villagers demanded a probe in the matter.
The situation aggravated for the worst when the villagers started throwing stones on the police station and attacking the police. The protesters raised slogans against the police administration and blocked the Bulandshahr highway.
The Station House Officer went outside the police station to control the mob, which had grown violent and uncontrollable. Unfortunately the SHO Subodh Kumar was shot by somebody from the crowd. This did not stop here; the SHO was again attacked on the way to the hospital in the ambulance which led to his death on the spot.
The other individual who was killed in the protest was a young boy, who was shot dead then and there. An FIR has been lodged against 27 people and around 60 unnamed accused and the prime accused named Yogesh Raj, also a Bajrang Dal member is on the run. Yogesh Raj was the man to have filled the complaint about the cow slaughter, other accused in the case are BJP youth wing leader Shikhar Agarwal and VHP activist Upendra Raghav, they are yet to be arrested and as of now the police has arrested 4 accused in the case. Unfortunately, two boys aged 11 and 12 respectively have also been named in the case.
BJP lawmaker gave a statement to the media that the violence broke out because the police was unable to punish the people who killed the cows.
Uttar Pardesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityananth has announced a compensation of Rs.50 lakh to the family of the deceased SHO and a government job to one of the members of the SHO’s family with pension benefit. The inspector was also investigating the Akhlaq lynching case.The Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath is being criticised for his alleged silence on the mob violence that lead to the death of Police Inspector Subodh Kumar, The Chief Minster has promised to meet the family of the slain police-officer in Lucknow.
In the burning scenario of Uttar Pradesh, it has been alleged that the Chief Minster was attending a Kabaddi event in Gorakhpur while Bulandshahr was burning in mob fury. The Chief Minster has also ordered a detailed investigation against those involved in the alleged cow slaughter in western UP’s Bulandshahr.
We can see how rampant lawlessness and chaos are all pervading across the nation. The courts are being defied, policemen are being targeted and those who claim to be saviors of the nation’s religiosity seem to be holding all the power they can to take law in their own hands. The murderous mob that killed the Police Officer should truly be a cause of concern for the entire nation because what is happening in one part of the nation will not take time to repeat itself in another. This way of electoral mobilization and the perpetuation of mob power has subordinated public authority and normalised the usage of violence throughout the country.
What must be noted is that in the state of Uttar Pradesh, all illegal slaughterhouses has been closed in March, 2017 and all police personnel were asked to ensured that such activities don’t take place. It is indeed a very bad state of affairs that mob violence killed a police officer on the allegations related to cow slaughter. The police officer was stoned and later hit by the bullet by a mob under frenzy. The death of the local man the police officer have made the country think about the rampant state of lawlessness in UP.
The inavailability of statements by the government officials on the two murders. Moreover, the among of two minor boys by the prime accused in the mob lynching case has also captured the national imagination. The Chief Minster flew away from the state and has gone to the state of Telangana in a role as BJP’s headline campaigner before it goes to Polls this Friday. The state of Uttar Pradesh burns in mob fury and lawlessness seems to have become the norm, definitely there is much more to pay attention to than electoral politics.
