Rajbhar, who is known for his scathing comments against his own government and the Chief Minister, raised questions on the timing of the violent protests.
A scene from outside the Syana police station in Bulandshahr, which was attacked by protesters on Monday. (Photo: SNS)
Om Prakash Rajbhar, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, claimed that the Bulandshahr violence was a planned conspiracy of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Rajbhar, who is known for his scathing comments against his own government and the Chief Minister, raised questions on the timing of the violent protests.
“This is a pre-planned conspiracy by VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS. Now police is even naming some BJP members. Why protest happened on same day as Muslim Ijtema event? It was an attempt to disturb peace,” Rajbhar was quoted as saying by ANI.
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Rajbhar is the president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the BJP, and an MLA from Duddhi.
His allegation comes a day after violent protests in Bulandshahr’s Syana led to the deaths of a police officer and a local.
Subodh Kumar Singh, the SHO of Bulandshahr’s Syana police station, was shot dead from point blank range when he attempted to clear the traffic snarl caused by angry villagers on the Bulandshahr road at Chingravathi. A man identified as Sumit also died in the violence.
Two Special Investigation Teams (SITs) were formed on Monday. At a press conference in Lucknow, Prashant Kumar, ADG (Law & Order), Meerut Zone, said that IG Meerut Zone will head one of the SITs to investigate why the violence happened and why Inspector SK Singh was alone at the scene of crime.
An FIR under IPC sections dealing with murder, rioting and assault was filed against 28 people including Yogesh Raj, reportedly a senior Bajrang Dal leader who had earlier lodged a police complaint alleging cow slaughter. The FIR also lists 60 unnamed people.
The UP Police arrested two men and detained four on Tuesday in connection with the violence which also claimed the life of a protester identified as Sumit.
The family of the slain cop alleged on Tuesday that he was killed because of his investigation into the Akhlaq case, referring to the 2015 lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in UP’s Dadri.
Read More: My brother killed as he was probing Akhlaq case, says sister of slain Bulandshahr cop
Rajbhar’s claim comes a day after he criticised Yogi Adityanath for the latter’s “Lord Hanuman is Dalit” saying that it was wrong to divide Gods into castes.
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