Bulandshahr violence: Local BJP MLAs hobnob with murder accused Shikhar Agarwal

As soon as he was released, BJP youth wing leader Shikhar Agarwal, the prime accused in the killing of inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in the December 2018 mob violence in Bulandshahr, was greeted by Khurja BJP MLA Vijender Singh and Syana BJP MLA Devendra Singh Lodhi.

Both these constituencies fall with Bulandshahr district limits.

Photos and videos on social media show supporters of Agarwal garlanding him and shouting slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram. The Allahabad High Court had also granted bail to another accused in the case, Yogesh Raj, who is also the local Bajrang Dal convenor.

“This is nothing but collusion with the government. How are these MLAs taking photographs with a murder accused? Shikhar Agarwal is confident nothing will happen to him. He has the political backing of the BJP MLAs. This is just like what happened in Jharkhand when Jayant Chaudhary garlanded the lynchers of Ramgarh incident,” said Shrey Subodh, son of the slain officer.

“The murder-accused has nothing to fear. Instead we have to fear for our lives. He knows he is being treated as a hero and will gain more prominence now,” added Subodh.

Subodh Singh and a 20-year-old civilian, Sumit, were killed in a mob attack in Bulandshahr after cattle carcasses were allegedly found in the fields of Mahaw village. Inspector SK Singh was shot in the head, while Sumit was killed as the police tried to tackle the berserk mob.

A Special Investigation Team had filed a chargesheet against 38 people in a local court. Out of the 38 accused, five were charged with the murder of Subodh Kumar Singh. The chargesheet included the names of both Yogesh Raj and Shikhar Agarwal. They were charged with violence and arson over alleged cow slaughter in Bulandshahr.