Bulandshahr violence case: Non-bailable warrant issued against Yogesh Raj and 26 others as key accused still absconds

A non-bailable warrant has been issued against the accused in the Bulandshahr mob violence case, comprising Bajrang Dal convener Yogesh Raj, BJP Yuva Morcha, Bulandshahr city president Shikhar Agarwal, former pradhan of Mahav village, Raj Kumar, and 24 others.

File image of Yogesh Raj, the key accused in the Bulandshahr violence case. News18

According to a report from The Hindu, the development comes after an application was submitted by the investigators before the chief judicial magistrate court in Bulandshahr, arguing that the absconding accused were trying to influence the probe.“The accused are trying to spoil communal harmony by making videos of the incident viral and attempting to influence evidence,” the application said.

However, despite continued efforts by a SIT and the Uttar Pradesh Police to locate the accused in the case, Raj and the other key accused in the case are still absconding. According to CNN-News18, questions are being raised against the Uttar Pradesh Police's resolve to solve this case, as 10 days have passed since the incident where two people, including a police officer, lost their lives.

Meanwhile, 12 people have been arrested in the case so far, including Jeetu Fauji or Jitendra Malik, an army jawan who emerged as a key suspect in the murder of officer Subodh Singh.

Violence broke out in Bulandshahr on 3 December over the alleged illegal slaughter of cattle, leaving Subodh Singh and a youth dead, as a mob went on a rampage torching a police post and clashed with police, which opened fire to control the situation, officials said.

Singh, who was posted at the Siana Police Station, suffered a gunshot injury in addition to wounds from hard and blunt objects, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said, citing a post-mortem report.

Inspector Singh was investigating officer in the Akhlaq lynching case of Dadri between 28 September, 2015 and 9 November, 2015, he said, replying to queries from reporters.

Police said Sumit (20) also died of gunshot injuries sustained during the violence.

The incident took place near the Chingrawathi crossing, where hundreds of people had gathered. The protesters entered into a scuffle with the local police and the crowd started pelting stones at them.