Bulandshahr Violence: CM's Statements Damaging Police Investigations

Disbelief and fear writ large on the faces of family members of some of the accused Muslim boys picked up for alleged cow slaughter in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district following the mob violence on December 3. The Right-wing mob violence over alleged cow slaughter led to the killing of a police officer and a local resident, and was termed an “accident” by Chief Minister Adityanath, who has now rephrased it as a “conspiracy.” Thanks to the CM, the focus of the probe has now turned to cow slaughter, rather than murder by a violent mob.

Rayees rickshaw chalata hai, Kala bahut gareeb hai aur Nadeem dish ka kaam karte hain, na jane kaise achanak police ye keh rahi hai ki in logon ne gau kashi kiya hai (Rayees is a rickshaw puller, Kala is from an economically marginalised and Nadeem works as a TV dish supplier. I don't know how the police is suddenly claiming that they have slaughtered cows), Nayeem Choudhry, the younger brother of Nadeem, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with cow slaughter, told NewsClick. 

Loopholes in the FIR

Talking about the FIR, Nayeem said, "On the midnight of December 16, between 11:30 to 12, the police knocked our door and Nadeem went to the gate, when they nabbed him there. However, in the FIR, the police mentioned that they arrested Nadeem on December 18 at 7 a.m from a local cattle market after they intercepted a vehicle (Gypsy) carrying the suspects based on a tip-off. The cattle market is almost 3 km from our town Siyana and that Gypsy has not been working since four months. The police on December 16, around 1 a.m, towed our Gypsy with the help of a Tata Sumo because it was not in 'running condition', then how was Nadeem seen in the cattle market in the same gypsy?”

Also, Nadeem said that the on the night of December 2-3, when a cow was allegedly slaughtered in Mahaw village, Nadeem was sleeping at home. After '17 days', the SIT has claimed that they have solved the case even as the district Bajrang Dal convenor and key accused Yogesh Raj is still absconding. Why are the police not talking about Yogesh?”, he questioned.

Drawing attention to the “misuse” of power by the police, Nayeem said, "On December 17 at 1 p.m, the police forcefully came to our house to take Nadeem's gun licence and when our uncle Nizamuddin intervened, demanding in written about depositing the gun, the police said they were not bound to produce any such order. They also asked us to go to the police station to collect the required documents, but it's been three days, neither have we received any paper for the gun nor our complaint has been registered so far.”

Also Read | Twist in Bulandshahr Violence: Was the Inspector and Civilian Shot With Same Weapon?

Police and SIT ‘Drama’

According to the Bulandshahr police, on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, cow carcasses were found in a field in Mahaw village of Siyana town. Following that, over 400 people had gone on a rampage and violence broke out which ended in the killing of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a civilian, Sumit, who has also been named as an accused in the mob violence case.

Soon after the violence, an SIT was constituted. At first, the SIT reportedly revealed that the police inspector and a civilian were shot dead with (.32) bore of the same gun, which is not used by the police, and Jitendra Malik aka Jeetu Fauji’s name emerged as an accused for killing the police inspector. Fauji was detained on December 7 from Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town by a team of the Uttar Pradesh police and was sent to 'judicial custody'. Since then there has been no report of Jeetu and key accused of Yogesh Raj. 

83 Civil Servants Seek Adityanath’s Resignation 

A group of 83 retired civil servants expressing their dismay at the “complete collapse of constitutional values” following the violence “instigated and engineered with malicious intent” in Bulandshahr, have called for the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Also Read | Bulandshahr Mob Violence: In Open Letter, 83 Civil Servants Seek Adityanath’s Resignation

Vibhuti Narain Rai, former retired IPS officer, who had filed the first FIR in Hashimpura massacre case told NewsClick, "I fully agree with all the retired civil servants because Chief Minister Adityanath has failed miserably and has disturbed the conscience of. This has tarnished the reputation of the government machinery. People do not believe what the government says anymore. The Bulandshahr violence should be investigated and government should tell people the truth."

When questioned about the CM’s recent claim that law and order in UP is so far the best the state has seen in 15 years, Rai said, "For last one and half year since the Yogi government came to power, they have reduced Uttar Pradesh Police into a 'band of assassins’. He himself is encouraging unlawful custodial killings, the so-called encounters. Now, the government is trying to politicise this issue.”

Interestingly, on the basis of an FIR lodged by the key accused Yogesh Raj, the police arrested four Muslims, including 'two minors' accusing them of cow slaughter. Now, however, the UP police have said that all four arrested -- Sajid, Sarfuddin, Asif and Nanhe -- are innocent and have had nothing to do with cow slaughter!

NewsClick had travelled on December 5 to all the three villages where violence had broken out and had spoken to their families. The brother of Sarfuddin, Mohd Husain, had told NewsClick, "Police have not released my brother Sarfuddin despite the district court order. They have demanded Rs. 10,000 as bribe to release him. I do not have any idea why they are demanding this extortion money.” 

Also Read | Bulandshahr Violence: SIT Reveals Four Held for Alleged Cow Slaughter are Innocent, Three More Muslims Held

5 Questions That Beg Answers

NewsClick would like to raise five questions to the Uttar Pradesh Police and Yogi government which has been silent since the violence broke out.  

1. Where is Bajrang Dal convenor and key accused of mob violence Yogesh Raj and why is he still absconding after 17 days? Why the police are clueless about him and no input has been given so far. Who is shielding Yogesh? After openly making a video claiming that he is innocent, why was the police unable to trace his location? Are there influential people close to the government who are trying to save him?
2. Where is Army man Jitendra Malik aka Jeetu Fauji? He had emerged as a key suspect for killing the police. Why was he sent to 15 days 'Judicial custody' soon after his arrest, but not 'police custody'? Why has there been no police report about Jeetu? If for even smaller crimes, criminals can be sent to the police custody then why was Jeetu not sent? There has also been no report of the SIT on Jeetu.
3. When the CM termed the Bulandshahr violence as a 'political conspiracy', what is the conspiracy? For cow lynching or murder of police inspector? 
4. Nadeem, Kala, Rayees have been arrested for their role in the cow slaughtering but the trio were not named in the 'initial FIR' by Yogesh Raj then how come police and SIT claimed that they are the 'key accused'. 
5. The initial probe by SIT has reportedly revealed that the police inspector and a civilian, were shot dead with (.32) bore of the same gun, which is not used by the police. There is no report on that so far? Why are investigating officers not giving any inputs on the same.