Following the Bulandshahr incident where Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was shot dead on Monday, villagers from Dadri’s Bishara fear that they will face investigation as the victim was linked to their village.
Singh was one of the first officers to have reached Bishara after Mohammad Akhlaq was beaten to death over rumours of cow slaughter in 2015.
Ideas to restore peace
The villagers recall how Singh had controlled the mob with his cordial behaviour and strict investigation. He had even pitched the idea of conducting a kabaddi match and a collective wedding event for Muslim couples to restore peace in the area, said Singh’s colleague.
To a question on similarities between the two incidents, Amit, a villager said apart from the course of the incident in Akhlaq lynching, there are other similarities like one Rahul Yadav was injured after the policemen allegedly shot at him. “The only difference — in Bishara, the mob never attacked any policeman but in Bulandshahr it seems like the people purposely went after the officers.”
A small group of villagers also hinted towards a conspiracy behind the killing of the Inspector since he had controlled the mob during Akhlaq lynching incident.
“It is difficult to say whether the mob knew that he was the same Inspector who had investigated Akhlaq lynching. This seems to be a suspicious coincidence,” said another resident.
Local BJP member and father to main accused in Akhlaq lynching, Sanjay Rana, said Singh was the first officer to reach Bishara after the incident came to fore. “I called Singh and he reached in 15 minutes and took control over the situation. We will always remember him for his fair investigation. He had collected the meat sample from the fridge in Akhlaq’s house that was later proved to be of a cow. On the other hand, he had arrested all the accused in less than a month’s time,” Mr. Rana added.
He added that Singh did not show mercy to those who had attacked Akhlaq. “He was an important witness in the two cases — cow slaughter and the second which was filed against my son and others for lynching of Akhlaq. The next hearing is on December 17. I feel his loss because only he knew the truth behind the allegations of cow slaughter,” he added.
