Bulandshahr violence: Man who shot Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh held

Lucknow: The police on Thursday claimed that they have arrested the man who allegedly shot an inspector dead during the Bulandshahr mob violence. According to police, the arrest of Prashant Nat in connection with the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Siyana area of Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district on December 3, takes the total number of accused held in this case to 29.

"During interrogation, he has confessed to his involvement in the violence and also admitted that he had shot the bullet which killed the inspector," said Atul Kumar Srivastava, additional superintendent of police (ASP), Bulandhshahr city.

"We are interrogating him further to elicit other details and expect other information to emerge during the probe. Based on that information, we will move ahead with the probe in the case," the ASP said.

Nat, a resident of Chingrawathi village of Siyana, was held from Sikandrabad, near the highway that leads to Noida, around 2.30 pm. He works part time as a driver in Delhi and nearby areas and at other times he works locally as a labourer.

"With this arrest, the total arrested in the violence case of December 3 has gone up to 29 now," a police official said.

Five people were arrested on December 18 for their alleged roles in the mob violence and the cow-slaughtering cases.

Three of them - Nadeem, Raees and Kaala - were arrested for their alleged involvement in the cow-slaughtering case, while two accused were nabbed by the state special task force (STF) for the subsequent violence after cow carcasses were found in a field.

The trio was not named in the initial FIR, which had seven accused, including two minors, but their names emerged in the case during probe.

An FIR against 27 named people and 50-60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana police station for the violence at the Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahaw village.

One of the main suspects among the 27 named in the FIR, local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, is still at large, while an Army jawan, Jitendra Malik, has been arrested and remanded in custody.

A mob of around 400 people, including right-wing activists, clashed with the police on December 3 in Siana area of Bulandshahr district, after allegedly discovering cow carcasses thrown in a nearby jungle. The angry mob set fire to dozens of vehicles, stone pelted and fired at police who then retaliated with gunfire.

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, the station house officer of Siana who once investigated Akhlaq lynching case, and 20-year-old Sumit Kumar were killed in the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)