Police say 30-year-old Prashant Natt has admitted that he had fired the shot which killed inspector Subodh Kumar in the 3 December mob violence.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh police late Thursday evening claimed to have arrested a 30-year-old man who fired the shot that killed Syana inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in the Bulandshahr mob violence, in what could prove to be a significant breakthrough.
Prashant Natt, believed to be working as a taxi driver in Delhi-NCR, was arrested from Dankaur road near the Sikandrabad-Noida border, an official statement from the SSP’s office said.
The inspector and a 22-year-old youth Sumit Singh were killed in the 3 December violence which was triggered by allegations of cow slaughter.
“We have arrested Prashant Natt, the main accused in case relating to the murder of Syana police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh which took place on 3 December. During questioning, he has accepted that he was involved in the incident. He has also admitted that he had fired the shot which killed inspector Subodh Kumar. We expect more facts to come out during further questioning and further action will be taken,” said Atul Kumar Srivastava, SP City, Bulandshahr.
Natt hails from Bulandshahr’s Chingrawathi village where the violence had taken place over cow slaughter on 3 December.
The names of a local Bajrang Dal leader and an armyman had also figured as accused in the case earlier.
Suspicious role
The police had been on the lookout for Natt after videos of the incident surfaced.
“Natt’s name was not mentioned in the initial FIR. However, during investigation, the name has come up. There were 400-500 people who were part of the mob which launched an attack. Through videos of the incident, statements of eyewitnesses and accused persons who have been arrested we are in the process of identifying more people,” Prashant Kumar, ADG Meerut, told ThePrint earlier in the day.
Natt was among four men who had approached the local court in Bulandshahr with a surrender plea.
“His family is absconding from their house in Chingrawathi. He had moved a petition but he appeared before the court to surrender. As far as his role is concerned, it seems that he was part of a group of 3-4 people who were near the police jeep where Subodh Kumar Singh seems to have been shot,” said Kiran Pal Singh, SHO Syana police station, Bulandshahr.
Also read: Licensed guns, Delhi car & chopper used – Bulandshahr cow slaughter case cracked, say police
The incident
On the afternoon of 3 December, locals from Syana area in Bulandshahr had assembled near Chingrawathi police chowki after suspected cattle carcass was found in Mahav village. Expressing anger at the alleged cow slaughter, locals had protested, demanding that action be taken against the culprits.
The protest, however, took a violent turn after stones were pelted and gunshots fired. The police chowki and vehicles were set ablaze. In the ensuing melee, the 58-year-old inspector and Sumit were killed, having sustained fatal gunshot injuries.
Two FIRs were lodged in the case — one relating to cow slaughter and a second relating to the two murders and rioting. On Wednesday, two minors who were among the seven people who had been accused of cow slaughter, were picked up by the police for questioning.
The complainant in the cow slaughter case — self-proclaimed local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj — is a prime accused in the second FIR. The second FIR books Raj along with 26 other named and 50-60 unidentified persons, under 17 charges relating to murder, sedition, arson and dacoity.
Also read: Yogi Adityanath must resign for Bulandshahr violence, 82 retired civil servants urge Modi
The suspects
Shortly after the incident, Raj was believed to be the prime accused in the case with his name topping the list of accused in the FIR. Two days after the incident, Raj had also released a video where he had claimed that he was not present at the scene of crime.
The police, however, rubbished these allegations and maintained that they had evidence where Raj was seen inciting the mob that afternoon. While about 30 people are in custody, Raj is still absconding.
Earlier this month, the role of an Indian Army soldier had also been a part of the police investigation in the Bulandshahr. The accused in question is Jitender Malik. His name is 11th on the list of 27 accused in the FIR which identifies him as Jeetu, alias Fauji, a 24-year-old resident of Mahav village in Bulandshahr.
According to some media reports, it was Jitender who allegedly fired the shot that killed the inspector. While Malik was arrested, the police maintained that there was videographic evidence of him pelting stones but ruled out his direct role in Singh’s murder.
“In the past few days, several names have been taken by the media. The media has said that these people were behind the two deaths. We are in the process of collecting evidence and identifying the real culprits. The chain of events will be shared once it has been proved with enough evidence and the exact role of the accused ascertained,” Kumar said.