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Where was Yogi Adityanath when Bulandshahr was burning?   

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Yogi Adityanath addressed 2 rallies, attended a sound and light show and when he finally took stock of the incident, a day later, he centred it on cow slaughter.

Lucknow: For at least two hours late Tuesday afternoon, before the body of slain inspector Subodh Kumar Singh reached his home in Etah’s Tarigawa village, his sister Manisha Singh had demanded to know why Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath had not met her family.

Speaking to reporters in Etah, the sister asked why the chief minister who talks about the “gau (cow)” did not acknowledge her brother’s efforts to protect the animal. “My brother lost his life for it (cow),” she said.

By the time of Manisha’s grievances, 24 hours had passed since a mob in Bulandshahr had attacked and killed her brother.

The chief minister, however, was some 500 km away in his political fiefdom of Gorakhpur, where he was hosting his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Raman Singh. In fact, throughout the incident and its aftermath, Adityanath was nowhere near Bulandshahr.

As mob struck, CM was campaigning 

When mob violence engulfed Bulandshahr between 12 and 2 pm Monday, Adityanath was in Rajasthan, where, as the star poll campaigner for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he addressed election rallies at Masuda and Asind near Ajmer.

At around 2 pm Monday, the UP chief minister’s official Twitter handle had shared two photographs of him from the rallies.

It is his social media account that provides a picture of his actions through the day.

Between 9.20 am and 10.22 pm on Monday, Adityanath’s official Twitter handle shared nine posts. Prior to the incident, the tweets hinged on the past — celebrating India’s first president Rajendra Prasad, revolutionary and freedom fighter Khudiram Bose and a third post reminiscing on hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.

Later on Monday, Adityanath reached his pocket borough of Gorakhpur, where he hosted the Chhattisgarh chief minister. That evening, his Twitter account shared over a dozen photographs of him with Raman Singh.

One of the tweets shows the two attending a “sound and light show” in the Gorakhnath temple.

CMO ‘wakes up’ at 9 pm

It is only after 9 pm Monday that the chief minister’s office finally seemed to have woken up to the Bulandshahr tragedy.

In a series of tweets, the UP CM’s office (@CMOfficeUP) announced that the chief minister had expressed “deep sadness” over the deaths of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and 22-year-old Sumit in the Bulandshahr incident.

His office also said that the ADG (Intelligence) had been directed by the CM to investigate the incident and submit a report in two days. A third tweet quoted the chief minister as having said that the decision to “provide financial support and action against the accused will be taken as soon as the investigation report of the incident in Bulandshahr district is received”.

A large part of the announcements, however, had already been made four hours earlier: At a press conference in Lucknow at around 5 pm, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar had announced these measures. The ADG also said that an SIT would be formed, which didn’t find mention in the government release.

Soon after the tweets, though, an official statement from the CM’s office late Monday announced that the inspector’s wife would get a compensation of Rs 40 lakh, his parents were to get Rs 10 lakh and a family member would be given a government job.

As family fumed, CM stayed put in Gorakhpur

On Tuesday — a full 24 hours after the Bulandshahr incident — Adityanath continued to host Raman Singh in Gorakhpur, where the duo addressed a gathering on the inaugural of a Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad at a local college.

The two later attended a kabaddi event in Gorakhpur.

Nearly 600 km away in the state he governs, the family of inspector Singh refused to cremate his body.

“My uncle died in the line of duty. The violence took place due to cow slaughter. Local MLAs have told us that the CM is in Telangana but he was watching a kabbadi match,” said Ravendra Singh, the inspector’s nephew. “We don’t care whether he is at an election rally or at a match.”

He also called for his uncle to be called a martyr with a school and memorial in his name.

“We have been told that a compensation of Rs 50 lakh will be given to the family and a family member will be given a job. We can give the government Rs 50 lakh or even Rs 1 crore if they can bring my uncle back. Money and jobs cannot make up for our loss,” Ravendra said.

“How could the policemen with my uncle leave him injured? The real culprits are running scot-free. We want them to be punished.”


Also read: Bulandshahr main accused calls himself ‘King of Hindugiri’, is proud to incite violence


CM finally takes stock 

The chief minister finally took stock of the situation late Tuesday, when he held a two-hour-long meeting at his official residence in Lucknow, with top police officers and the principal home secretary but even then, he focussed on the cow slaughter, with little condemnation of the violence.

“The CM gave directions for reviewing this incident, stating that it should be investigated seriously and strict action should be taken against all persons involved in cow slaughter,” an official statement put out by the UP government read.

“He said that the incident is part of a big conspiracy. Hence, those involved directly or indirectly in cow slaughter should be arrested in a time-bound manner.”

The statement said that the CM had announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of 22-year-old Sumit Singh who had died in the Bulandshahr violence. It also said that chief ministers had directed chief secretary and the DGP to ensure that illegal slaughterhouses are shut down.

“It is important to note that from March 19, 2017, illegal slaughterhouses have been shut down. In light of the incident, the CM has asked all DMs and SSPs that this kind of illegal activity does not take place at the district level at any cost,” the statement read. “This is their collective responsibility.”

Finally, on Wednesday morning, the CM’s office announced that Adityanath will meet inspector Singh’s family in Lucknow on Thursday.

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