Four days after an inspector and a civilian were killed in mob violence in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, the state police said that their priority is to find who killed the cows whose carcasses were found in a nearby field.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Bulandshahr) Rayees Akhtar toldThe Indian Express, "Our main concern at this moment is to find out who killed those cows. After all, it was the killing of the cows that led to the protest, which resulted in Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh's murder. Our belief is that once we solve that case, it will throw light on how the murder occurred. The cow-killers are our top priority. The murder and rioting case is on the backburner for now."
The police have so far arrested four people for the killing of SHO Subodh Kumar Singh.
While the main accused in the case Yogesh Raj, a Bajrang Dal activist, is on the run, the police had questioned two minor boys, aged 11 and 12, who were named in a complaint filed by Raj for cow slaughter.
HuffPost India on Thursday published a report in which nine eye-witnesses to the violence detailed how the Bajrang Dal orchestrated the mob attack on the police outpost.
Station House Officer (SHO) Subodh Kumar Singh was killed as he sought to quickly disperse an angry mob that was primed to attack a small group of Muslim men returning from a nearby Muslim congregation, the policemen who accompanied him said.
A Special Investigating Team is probing the violence and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force will reportedly assist the investigation.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also finds the alleged cow slaughter more disturbing than the murder. He has ordered a probe and issued directions to take strict action against those involved in the alleged cow slaughter in the western UP district.