The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday transferred a senior police official from Bulandshahr, days after mob violence claimed two lives in the district, ANI reported.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Raees Akhtar has been moved to the Provincial Armed Constabulary headquarters in Lucknow and Manish Mishra has been appointed as his replacement, according to The Indian Express.
Last week, Akhtar had said the police would focus on the alleged incident of cow slaughter and not the murder of a police inspector and a civilian. “After all, it was the killing of the cows that led to the protest, which resulted in Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh’s murder,” he told The Indian Express. “Our belief is that once we solve that case, it will throw light on how the murder occurred.”
Akhtar emphasised that the “cow killers are our top priority” and that “the murder and rioting case is on the backburner for now”. He also said that most of those suspected to be behind Singh’s murder seem to have been involved in “cow protection activities”.
His transfer comes a day after three police officials, including Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police Krishna Bahadur Singh, were transferred allegedly for neglecting their duties.
On Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested an Army soldier allegedly involved in the killing of the inspector. Special Task Force Senior Superintendent Abhishek Singh confirmed the development and said that the Army handed jawan Jitendra Malik over to the police after midnight on Saturday. On Sunday, a judicial magistrate sent Malik to jail for 14 days, PTI reported.
At least nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence. Singh and 20-year-old civilian Sumit Kumar were killed when a mob attacked policemen after cattle carcasses were allegedly found in the fields in Mahaw village on December 3.
Chief Minister Adityanath on Friday described the killing of Subodh Kumar Singh as “an accident” and had claimed incidents of mob lynching have not taken place in the state.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!