Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Shikhar Agarwal, a key suspect in the mob violence in Bulandshahr’s Siyana, was arrested early Thursday. Agarwal was held from the adjoining Hapur district by the police.
Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times
Hapur: Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Shikhar Agarwal, a key suspect in the mob violence in Bulandshahr’s Siyana, was arrested early Thursday.
Agarwal was held from the adjoining Hapur district by the Bulandshahr police.
“He was arrested this morning. We are interrogating him and produce him in the local court later today,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Bulandhshahr city) Atul Kumar Srivastava told PTI.
Agarwal is the president of BJP’s youth wing in Syana and had been absconding since December 3 after his name was included in the FIR against 87 men out of which 27 were named for the violence.
Superintendent of Police (city) of Bulsndshahr Atul Kumar Srivastava said that Shikhar was arrested on Thursday from Hapur and was taken to Syana Kotwali for further interrogation. “He would be presented before the court after interrogation.”
Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 44, and civilian Sumit Kumar, 20, were killed of bullet shots during the mob violence on December 3.
An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana Police Station for the violence that was witnessed at Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahaw village.
On January 3, the police had arrested local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, also a key suspect in the case.
It took police more than a month to nab Agarwal even though the latter had been uploading his videos on social media claiming innocence in addition to giving interviews on TV channels.
Shikhar Agarwal had released a video last month, blaming officer Subodh Kumar Singh for the violence which erupted around a police post on December 3 over alleged cow slaughter. He claimed that it was the police officer who created tension by stopping him and others from taking cow carcasses to the police post for filing a complaint about the alleged slaughter.
Shikhar Agarwal claimed in the video that Singh threatened to kill him and his aides. He said he later told Chandra Maurya, a senior police officer, about the ‘threat.’ He also accused Singh of being “corrupt” and “siding with the Muslim community” to perpetuate cow slaughter.
A man arrested on January 1, Kalua, is accused of attacking the inspector with an axe, chopping off a couple of his fingers and then inflicting a head wound.
Prashant Nutt, the man who allegedly shot the officer, was arrested on December 28. He, Kalua and a third man, Johnny, who had snatched the officer’s revolver were identified from a cell phone video. An army man, Jitendra Malik, another key accused in the killing, was arrested on December 9 and is currently in judicial custody.
So far, over 35 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.