Three leaders from the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP have been named in the FIR lodged by police in the violence that rocked Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh killing a police officer and a young man, authorities said on Tuesday.
VHP activist Upendra Raghav, BJP city youth wing President Shikhar Agarwal and Bajrang Dal district coordinator Yogesh Raj have been named in the First Information Report in the wake of the violence on Monday.
The police have also arrested two others – said to be villagers – while five persons have been detained in connection with the violence that broke out after the recovery of some animal carcasses that the right-wing groups claimed were of cows.
When Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh tried to reason with the demonstrators and persuade them to clear the traffic jam they had caused, he was attacked both with blunt objects and also fired at, killing him instantly.
A young man was also killed in violence but the circumstances leading to his death are not clear.
The police have registered a case against 88 persons, of whom 25 have been named.
Five police teams have been formed and 22 places have been raided to track down those involved in the violence.
The raids follow details emerging from eyewitness accounts, interrogation of those detained and video footage shot by people present at the time, a police official told IANS.
The police focus is on Chingrawathi and Mahav villages, located close to the crime scene. The police believe the mob came from these two places.
The body of the slain police officer was taken to his village in Etah district where family members broke down at seeing his mortal remains.
Singh is survived by his wife and two sons. His widow Sunita told relatives that her husband had sought leave but it was not granted. She rued that had the leave been granted, he would not have died.
The officer’s elder son Shreya is studying MBA while his younger son Abhishek is a student of engineering. IANS