Bulandshahr violence: Police find no evidence against Jeetu Fauji, identify some more rioters

A joint team of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the Special Task Force (STF) and the crime branch interrogated Malik for over five hours in Syana police station and cross-checked his revelations with available data and locations of his mobile phone.

Army soldier Jeetendra Malik aka Jeetu Fauji, who was arrested in connection with the killing of a police inspector during the Bulandshahr violence last Monday, has identified a few more rioters through video clips, police said.

Bulandshahr: Vehicles set on fire by a mob during a protest over the alleged illegal slaughter of cattle, in Bulandshahr, Monday, Dec. 03, 2018. According to Additional Director General of Meerut zone Prashant Kumar, protesters from Mahaw village and nearby areas pelted stones on the police and indulged in arson setting several vehicles and the Chingarwathi Police Chowki on fire. (PTI File Photo)(PTI)

A joint team of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Special Task Force and the crime branch interrogated Malik for over five hours in Syana police station and cross-checked his revelations with available data and locations of his mobile phone. He admitted being present on the spot but denied his involvement in the murder of inspector Subodh Kumar Singh.

Like several others, he was also seen instigating the crowed in the video clip but police have no evidence against him about his involvement in the killing. His lawyer Sanjay Sharma also pleaded before the remand magistrate on Sunday that mere presence on the spot could not be taken as evidence for filing charges of murder and attempted murder and opposed his police remand.

However,during his questioning, Malik identified some of the rioters including a few youths from his own Mahaw village, as well as Chingrawathi, Nayagaon, Nayabaans and other villages. Till now, these were not known to the investigators, a police officer said.

The investigating team will include these names in the case to ensure their arrest, along with 27 other named and over 60 unidentified rioters.

Deputy superintendent of police, Special Task Force, Brajesh Kumar said that Malik was shown video clips and identified a few people who were part of the mob on the day of violence.

So far, three named accused have been arrested and raids are on to arrest the remaining accused. One of the key trouble makers - Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj is still at large, along with other top suspects like Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shikhar Agarwal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist Upendra Raghav.

Malik is a resident of Mahaw village from where the trouble began after the alleged cow slaughter incident. He came to his village on 20 days’ leave which ended on December 3, when the violence took place.