Month after Bulandshahr violence, main accused and Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj arrested from Khurja

Yogesh raj, the alleged mastermind in the Bulandshahr violence that claimed life of a cop, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday. Earlier, Yogesh Raj had issued a video message claiming his innocence, saying he was not present at the spot. In the viral video, Yogesh chanted 'Jai Shree Ram' and introduced himself as the Bulandshahr district convenor of the Bajrang Dal. According to Yogesh, he was innocent and the police were portraying him as if he is a “history-sheeter."

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.