Yogi terms Bulandshahr violence as an 'accident', 3 cops transferred

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday termed the violence in Bulandshahr which led to the death of two, including a policeman, as an "accident".

He also asserted mob lynchings don't take place in Uttar Pradesh.

"Uttar Pradesh mein koi mob lynching ki ghatna nahi hui hai... Bulandshahr mein jo hua wo ek durghatna thi (No mob lynching happened in Uttar Pradesh, what happened in Bulandshahr is an accident)," he said at a media event in New Delhi.

The UP CM had earlier said the the Bulandshahr violence was the result of a "big conspiracy".

On Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh government transferred Bulandshahr superintendent of police Krishna Bahadur Singh to the director general of police office in Lucknow five days after two people, including an inspector, were killed in violence following an alleged cow slaughter incident.

Principal secretary-home Arvind Kumar said that the SSP will be replaced by Sitapur SP Prabhakar Chaudhary.

The government transferred two other policemen of Bulandshahr -- circle officer Syana Satya Prakash Sharma and Chingravati police chowki in-charge Suresh Kumar.

Additional director general-intelligence SB Shiradkar had Friday submitted a report on the violence. The transfers are understood to be in line with the findings of the report on police handling of the situation.

On December 3, inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a local youth, Sumit, were killed in violence over an alleged cow slaughter incident in Bulandshahr .

The inspector and his team had gone to the village to tackle the violence when they came under attack.

Singh was the investigating officer of the Dadri lynching case from September 28, 2015 to November 9, 2015.

However, the chargesheet had been filed by a different IO in March, 2016.

Police have arrested nine accused in the Bulandshahr case but the main conspirator, Yogesh Raj, the district convener of the Bajrang Dal, is on the run.

In a video that surfaced online on Wednesday, Raj had claimed innocence.

Another suspect is Jeetu Fauji, and a police team has been sent to Jammu to nab him, a senior officer said.

Another inquiry by a government-constituted SIT is underway, and the team is going into every minute detail and video footage of the incident, the officer said.

Also, a magisterial probe had been ordered by the government into the incidents.

With inputs from PTI