Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was killed on Monday by a violent mob in Bulandshahr
Opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, over the mob killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh on Monday, at a time when lakhs of Muslims had travelled to Bulandshahr for the Tablighi Jamaat's Ijtema or religious gathering. The two main opposition parties in UP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) alleged "complete lawlessness" in the state.
In a statement, the four-time chief minister and BSP chief Mayawati said that the BJP government is now facing the same "mobocracy" it created to "make political gains" over the years. The Bulandshahr mob violence "reflected that the state government has lost grip on the right-wing cadre, who earlier targeted only Dalits, backward castes and Muslims," said the BSP chief, while announcing financial assistance to the victims' families.
"Uttar Pradesh is going through an unfortunate phase under the BJP governance," tweeted SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, while paying his tribute to Inspector Singh.
Senior Congress leader and former union minister Kapil Sibal questioned who "fanned the violence?" Mr Sibal said, "It is a shocking state of affairs...a mob killed an officer who was investigating the Akhlaq case...a bullet injury killed the officer, which means they were also carrying guns...why are such things happening in Uttar Pradesh," Mr Sibal said.
Left party CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the BJP and RSS have created an "environment of hate" in UP. "Each citizen in BJP-ruled states is insecure. Who is accountable...Modi and Yogi are hell-bent upon destroying the whole state," tweeted Mr Yechury.
While there has been complete silence from the UP government, one of the state ministers OP Rajbhar, called the Bulandshahr mob violence a "pre-planned conspiracy" by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and the Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He questioned why the police are now naming some BJP members in the case. "Why did the protests happen on same day during the Muslim Ijtema event? It was an attempt to disturb peace," Mr Rajbhar said. Earlier, he had taken strong objection to Yogi Adityanath's "Lord Hanuman is Dalit" remark and had said it was wrong to divide Gods into castes.
The Uttar Pradesh Police today said that the main conspirator behind the mob violence in Bulandshahr was Yogesh Raj, an activist of a prominent right-wing group Bajrang Dal. He was the complainant in a separate case of cow slaughter after 25 carcasses were found by local people. He was also seen in a video in which a police officer was seen trying to placate him.