Yogesh Raj had eluded the police for 30 days and even sent videos from hiding. Reports suggest he was arrested only after the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right-wing outfit, turned him in.
Bulandshar: Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj, the prime accused in the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Buladshahr was arrested by the police, a month after violence gripped the district in Uttar Pradesh. Raj, who was on a run since the violence broke out, was arrested late last night from a college in Bulandshahr.
Yogesh Raj had eluded the police for 30 days and even sent videos from hiding. Reports suggest he was arrested only after the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right-wing outfit, turned him in. The police claimed in a press release that an informer alerted them to Yogesh Raj’s plan to go to Khurja, about 20 km from Bulandshahr, last night. The police say they laid a trap and caught him near a popular college.
Raj confessed to being a part of the mob and indulging in stone pelting. In a video released last month, he had denied being present at the site and said the people are “portraying me as if I am a history-sheeter.” He has contradicted many statements he made in the video and gave a different story each time he was asked about his whereabouts.
“Yes, Yogesh Raj has been arrested. He is undergoing a medical examination and would be produced in the local court later today for legal proceedings,” Circle Officer (Siyana) Raghvendra Kumar Mishra told PTI Thursday morning.
Subodh Kumar Singh, the station house officer of Siyana, and a local youth, Sumit Kumar, were killed on December 3 in mob violence near Siyana village during protests against alleged cow slaughter. Raj, with his associates, had lodged an FIR claiming that they saw “seven people slaughtering cows” when they were roaming in the fields. The FIR was lodged against seven people, including minors, under IPC section 295 at Siyana police station.
Singh was chased, cornered in a field and shot dead by the mob of 400 which allegedly included activists of the Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and a youth wing member of the ruling BJP.
With Raj’s arrest, the number of those taken into custody in connection with the crime is 31 so far.
Last week, the police arrested a key accused, Kalua, who allegedly attacked Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh with an axe. The police also recovered the axe allegedly used in the attack, from his possession.
A Delhi taxi driver, Prashant Natt, was also held for allegedly shooting Singh. Police claimed Natt took Singh’s revolver and shot him in the head. Natt (30), who was not named in the FIR registered, was arrested after he was seen in videos of the incident, which was corroborated with testimonies of other accused and technical evidence.
Five Muslim men arrested on the basis of Yogesh Raj’s complaint were held for two weeks and eventually let off for lack of evidence.
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