NSA against three accused in Bulandshahr cow slaughter case

MEERUT: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday invoked stringent National Security Act (NSA) against three youths arrested for allegedly killing cows in Mahav village of Bulandshahr which had triggered the December 3 violence in which a police officer and a youngster were shot dead.

Bulandshahr police have so far arrested six persons in connection with the cow slaughter case, which the government and the police had said was on "top priority". Senior officials have claimed that there was a conspiracy in the Bulandshahr violence and the cow slaughter case was the "bigger question".

On Monday, Azhar, Mehboob Ali and Nadeem were slapped with NSA, a move which will kill their chance of securing a bail anytime soon.

Bulandshahr's senior superintendent of police (SP) Prabhakar Chaudhary said: "NSA has been invoked against three accused who recently moved bail pleas in a local court."

Soon after the December 3 violence, seven persons were named in an FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj in the cow slaughter case. However, after surfacing of several discrepancies in the initial FIR, police gave a clean chit to the seven accused and arrested six others.

Of the six persons, Nadeem, Raees and Kala were dubbed as the "main accused" by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case.

On the morning of December 3, some cow carcasses were found in the fields of Mahav village near Chingrawati police post in Syana tehsil of Bulandshahr. Soon, villagers assisted by members of right-wing groups loaded them into a trolley and placed them in front of the police post that led to clash. Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was posted at Siana police station, was killed in the attack. A youth, Sumit Kumar, also lost his life during the violence.