Bulandshahr violence: UP CM meets slain inspector's family

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday met the family members of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was killed in the Bulandshahr violence, and assured them of justice and strict action against the culprits.

He met Singh's wife and two sons, Shrey and Abhishek, at his Kalidas Marg residence here, an official spokesman said.

"The chief minister has given assurance to the victim's family that they will remain like a family and there would not any disturbance in their studies," UP DGP OP Singh, who was also present at the meeting, told reporters.

He said Adityanath had assured the family that education and house loans taken by them would be paid off by the government.

"The chief minister has assured us that he will remain with us in this difficult time and will ensure justice for us. He said strict action will be taken against those involved," the victim's elder son Shrey Singh said.

After the meeting, state minister Atul Garg said, "The chief minister has decided that the government will pay off Rs 25-30 lakh loans taken by him for education and house."

Garg said the Jaithara-Kuraoli road leading to his village in Etah would be renamed after the inspector. "A college will also be named after Singh to recognise and remember his courage," he said.

Garg is the minister incharge of Etah, the home district of Subodh Singh.

The DGP said, "We at the police force are like a family. Besides an extraordinary pension, we have also offered a job but the sons are studying and we have left it to their discretion as they may like to continue with their education," he said.

While the elder son of Subodh Singh is preparing for civil services, the younger one is pursuing law, he said.

About the ongoing probe, the DGP said, "The CM has issued an order in this regard and the guilty will be brought to book," he said and added, "It (The probe) is a different issue and will be discussed later."

He did not elaborate further on it.

Adityanath had Monday declared a compensation of Rs 40 lakh for the wife, Rs 10 lakh for the parents and a government job for a family member of the inspector, who was also an Investigating Officer (IO) in the 2015 Akhlaq lynching case.

Singh and a 20-year-old man were killed in mob violence triggered by alleged slaughter of cows in Bulandshahr.

The chief minister had ordered a thorough probe and issued directions to take strict action against those involved in the alleged cow slaughter in the western UP district.

Adityanath held a late night meeting here Tuesday with the chief secretary, the DGP, the principal secretary (home) and the additional director general of police (intelligence).

He had drawn flak from the opposition parties for attending a laser show in Gorakhpur when the violence broke out in Bulandshahr Monday.

An official spokesman said the chief minister was of the view that the incident "is part of a bigger conspiracy, and hence all those directly or indirectly related to cow slaughter should be arrested in a time-bound manner".

Since March 19, 2017, all illegal slaughter houses had been closed and instructions were issued to all district magistrates and superintendents of police to ensure that such activities do not take place in any of the districts.

The chief minister Wednesday night ordered strict action against cow slaughter, unlawful trade in cattle and illegal slaughterhouses, two days after two people were killed in mob violence in Bulandshahr.

His instructions were conveyed by Chief Secretary Anup Pandey to magistrates and superintendents of police of all 75 districts through a video link, an official release said.

Adityanath said the district magistrate and other senior police officials of a district would be held personally responsible for any lapse.

On Monday, a mob of some 400 people, including right-wing activists, violently rampaged through the Chingrawathi village apparently after cow carcasses were found strewn in a jungle nearby. The police arrested four people in connection with the violence.

A Bajrang Dal leader, who the police suspect was the main accused in the case, had been absconding since the incident. In a video that surfaced online Wednesday, Bajrang Dal's Bulandshahr convenor Yogesh Raj claimed innocence. The right-wing group also asked him to surrender before police but said it believed he was innocent.