Prashant Natt and his friend were accused of murder in Delhi three or four years ago, had been evading arrest, say police
Lucknow: Prashant Natt, the man accused of killing Syana inspector Subodh Kumar Singh during the Bulandshahr mob violence, is also suspected to be behind a Delhi murder which took place around 3-4 years ago, police said.
Natt was arrested by police late Thursday evening.
According to the police, Natt and another man were behind a Delhi murder which took place a few years ago. Following the murder, the two had been on the run, said the police.
“He used to drive taxis in Delhi NCR till some time ago. It has come to our knowledge that he and his friend were accused of a murder in Delhi and they had been evading arrest. A team of Delhi police had also come to his village to nab him at the time,” said Raghavendra Kumar Mishra, CO Syana, who is also part of the investigation in the case.
“When the matter died down, it seems he moved back to his village where he earned a living by doing farm work. We are in the process of getting more details of this case and other criminal record,” Mishra added.
On 3 December, Bulandshahr was rocked by mob violence triggered by allegations of cow slaughter. The inspector and a 22-year-old youth, Sumit Singh, were killed in the clashes.
Natt’s family has refuted the police claims.
“My in-laws reside in Kasna and father-in-law had presented him in front of the police on 25 December. Police are lying about his arrest. He was not arrested, he surrendered. This allegation that my brother killed the inspector is false,” Natt’s older brother Moolchand told reporters Friday.
“The police have not been able to crack the real culprits, those behind the conspiracy which led to the violence and so they are framing innocent and poor people.”
Also read: ‘Delhi taxi driver’ arrested for shooting Bulandshahr cop
Reconstruction of events
The police maintained it had enough evidence to establish Natt’s role in the inspector’s killing.
“The accused, Prashant Natt, has been sent to 14 days of judicial custody. He has admitted to killing Subodh Kumar Singh with the inspector’s service gun. This has been proved by witness statements and those of other accused in the case,” said Mishra.
The police also claimed to have reconstructed the sequence of events around Singh’s murder near Chingrawathi police chowki in Bulandshahr.
Narrating how the mob grew violent and attacked the inspector, police said one of the accused, Kalua, who is still absconding, was trying to cut a tree so that the road in front of Chingrawathi police chowki would be blocked.
“A large crowd had already assembled on the road by then. When Subodh saw Kalua trying to cut the tree, he asked him to stop. A heated argument took place and Kalua used the axe to first hit Subodh on his hand. Following this, the crowd grew violent and stone-pelting began. They also started setting vehicles and the police chowki ablaze. Subodh was further hit with stones and the axe,” said Mishra.
“As he tried to move away from the crowd with a gun in his hand, a group of men held him from the back and snatched his gun. Natt then used the inspector’s service revolver to fire a shot at him. Subodh received a bullet injury near his forehead from the shot and succumbed to this injury,” said Mishra.