One month after the violence in Bulandshahr that left an inspector and a youth dead, the police on Thursday claimed to have arrested the main accused, Yogesh Raj, who is district convener of Bajrang Dal.
Interestingly, after launching a hunt for the main accused in the national capital region as well as in Nepal, the police claimed to have arrested Raj from Bulandshahr.
Raj was on the run for the past one month after violence rocked the Siyana tehsil of the district when cow carcasses were allegedly found from an agricultural field on December 3.
It is to be seen whether the local police, which was allegedly trying to shield the right wing activists so far, will book Raj for the violence and murder or just level charges for blocking road in protest against cow slaughter.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bulandshahr, Prabhakar Chaudhary, told reporters on Thursday afternoon that Yogesh Raj, the main accused in the Bulandshahr violence case, was arrested near a private school in Khurja early Thursday morning.
“The arrest was made on the inputs from intelligence and on basis of all the information we have. Questioning of Yogesh Raj is underway and his statements are being recorded. We will go for a medical examination of the accused before producing him in the court by late afternoon,” the SSP said.
Raj was later produced in the court which sent him on 14 days’ judicial custody remand.
Altogether 37 people have been arrested so far in the case. On Wednesday, Satish and Vineet, accused of violence, and Azhar, accused in the cow slaughtering case, had surrendered in the local court in Bulandshahr.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal activist Praveen Bhati claimed that Yogesh Raj was innocent
“We will provide him legal assistance. We will do whatever is good for him. We will present everything before the court and we are sure he will be acquitted of all the charges,” Bhati said.
Raj had been absconding since December 3 when mob violence reared its ugly head in Bulandshahr. The clashes broke out when some local residents were protesting against alleged cow slaughter at illegal slaughterhouses. The protesters pelted stones and set several motorcycles on fire. Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and 20-year-old Sumit died in the violence.
In a video clip released on December 6, Raj had claimed innocence even as he remained in hiding. “I have nothing to do with it. I have full faith in God. I will be cleared of all accusations,” he had said in the video clip, adding that he was not present at the site of the incident when Kumar and Sumit received gun shots.