Bulandshahr Violence: After Bajrang Dal leader, UP Police arrests Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member from Hapur

Days after Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Bulandshahr violence prime accused from Khurja, the cops on arrested another key accused from Hapur today. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Shikhar Agarwal, who has been accused of instigating mob, was arrested in early morning hours today. Agarwal was held from the adjoining Hapur district by the Bulandshahr police, a senior official said. "He was arrested this morning. We are interrogating him and produce him in the local court later today," Additional Superintendent of Police (Bulandhshahr city) Atul Kumar Srivastava told PTI.

Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 44, and civilian Sumit Kumar, 20, were killed of bullet shots during the mob violence on December 3.

An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana Police Station for the violence that was witnessed at Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahaw village. On January 3, the police had arrested local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, also a key suspect in the case.

A separate FIR was lodged by the police for cow slaughter on a complaint by Yogesh Raj. So far, over 35 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, including Army jawan Jeetender Malik, Prashant Nat who allegedly shot the inspector dead and Kalua who had attacked him with an axe, the police said.

Violence had erupted after cow carcasses were found in a field near Mahaw village in the district on December 3. Inspector Subodh Singh and a young man had died during the violence. 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. The Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj was named as prime accused for instigating violence on the fateful day.

The mob had set fire to dozens of vehicles, hurled stones and also fired guns at police who retaliated with gunfire. Meanwhile, to tackle the problem of stray cattle that has caused several incidents of violence in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government imposed 0.5% ‘gau kalyan’ or cow welfare state in the state. The fund collected from the cess will be used to construct shelters in Uttar Pradesh, thereby reducing the violent incidents related to stray cattle. According to a data collecting site Factchecker.com, Uttar Pradesh witnessed 69% cow-related violence in 2018. In 21 such violent incidents, four men lost their lives. Among them were, a 20-year-old young man, who was visiting his family for Eid celebrations. Shahrukh Khan was lynched by an agitated mob in Bareilly last year.