Main accused in Bulandshahr violence gets bail

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, who is the main accused in the 2018 Bulandshahr violence in which a police officer and a civilian were killed.

Justice Siddhartha allowed the bail application of Yogesh Raj on Wednesday. Raj's lawyer, Anand Pati Tiwari argued that his client had no role in the violence and that other accused in the case have been given bail.

The state government's standing counsel opposed the bail saying Raj has been charged with sedition.

Yogesh Raj was arrested on January 3 this year.

Another accused in the mob violence, Shikhar Agarwal, returned home to a hero's welcome following his release on bail from a Bulandshahr jail last month.

A video circulated on social media showed supporters of Agarwal garlanding him and shouting slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram. Agarwal was one of the six accused released after the Allahabad High Court granted them bail.

The violence in Syana erupted outside a police post over an alleged incident of cow slaughter in nearby Mahav village on December 2 last year.

Sumit, a resident of Chingrawathi, was killed in alleged police firing when a mob cornered Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh of Syana police station and allegedly shot him dead.

An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Syana police station for the violence that erupted at Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahav village.