An Indian army man has emerged as a key suspect in the killing of a police inspector in mob frenzy over alleged cow slaughter in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on Monday, reported the NDTV.
Quoting police sources, the report said that cops are investigating whether Jeetu Fauji, an army man posted in Srinagar, could have fired the shot that killed Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh.
Two police teams have been sent to Jammu and Kashmir to track down Jeetu Fauji, who is seen in various videos of the mob violence in Bulandshahr. His mother Ratan Kaur said she could not identify her son from videos of the mob attack.
Other family members of Jeetu Fauji, however, confirm that he was present when the mob killing took place and left for Kargil after the incident. “He came from the spot and said, ‘see the drama’ and left for Kargil the same evening,” said Chandravati, Jeetu’s aunt.
Four people have been arrested for the mob violence which erupted after cow carcasses were found scattered in a forest near a village.
Recently, National Conference Vice President, Omar Abdullah, reacting to the Bulandshahr incident where a mob attacked and killed a policemen over allegations of cow slaughter, stated that the killers would be eulogized by the ruling party as ‘heroes’, while in Kashmir, such people would have been called ‘terrorists’.
The mob in Bulandshahr violence was allegedly led by Yogesh Raj, an activist of the rightwing group Bajrang Dal, who had complained to the police about cow slaughter after carcasses were found scattered in a forest, NDTV reported.
The police, trying to placate the protesters, came under attack and fired shots in the air as the situation rapidly spiraled out of control, the report stated.
Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and his team had gone to the village to tackle the violence when they came under attack. On video, a wild mob is seen chasing the policemen and shouting: “Maaro, take his gun!” Inspector Singh was assaulted with a sharp weapon and then shot in the head.
