Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj, the prime accused in the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Buladshahr was arrested Thursday, a month after violence erupted in the Uttar Pradesh district.
On December 3, 2018, 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.
In a video released last month, Yogesh Raj claimed innocence and that he was not present at the site where the violence had erupted. Raj, in the video, said the people are “portraying me as if I am a history-sheeter.”
"Yes, Yogesh Raj has been arrested. He is undergoing 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.
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"Police mujhe is prakar prastut kar rahi hai ki jaise mera koi bahut bara apradhik itihas ho..." (Police is trying to frame me in a way that I have a serious criminal background), Yogesh can be heard saying in the viral video.
Watch the video here:
"There were two incidents that happened on that day," he said referring to the incident.
"The first incident was related to cow slaughter at Mahav village near Siyana. When I got information about that, I reached there with my supporters. The police also reached there and we went to the Siana police station for filing our complaint (about cow slaughter)," he says.
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He says that when “we were still at the police station we got to know that villagers were pelting stones. There had been firing as well and a youth and a policeman have received gunshot injuries.”
He also trashed allegations that the Bajrang Dal was involved in the violence.
“When police were writing complaint as we had asked for, why would Bajrang Dal protest?”
"I was not present at the location of the second incident. I have nothing to do with it. I have full faith in the God. I will be cleared of all accusations," he said.
Additional Director General (Law and Order) Anand Kumar had earlier told mediapersons that the police were on the lookout for Yogesh Raj.
"Yogesh is on the run. Yogesh Raj, a local functionary of the Bajrang Dal, is the culprit and we are trying to nab him," Kumar had said.
Bajrang Dal's national spokesperson Surendra Jain on Tuesday too had denied involvement of its functionary in the killings and later went on to claim that the incident took place due to the anger of the people.
"This is the reaction of the entire Hindu community. It happened because of the failure of the government in preventing the slaughter of cows. The government may make laws but if these are not implemented , such incidents will continue to happen," he was quoted as saying in media reports.
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(With inputs from agencies)
