Bulandshahr case: Another cop removed, armyman denies hand

The chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, said on Friday the violence was an “accident”, adding that those responsible would not be spared.

Special Task Force deputy superintendent Brajesh Kumar said the soldier, who was handed over by the army to the UP Police on Saturday and arrested shortly after midnight, on Sunday denied any role in the violence during interrogation by a special investigation team set up to probe the matter. Jitendra Malik alias Jeetu Fauji was later sent to 14-day judicial custody.

An SIT member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Malik told investigators he had no motive to kill the police inspector. The jawan denied he was carrying a firearm during the violence, the SIT member said. He added that the police will apply for the jawan’s custody on Monday to question him further.

Malik’s lawyer Sanjay Sharma said he will move his client’s bail application on Monday. “Jitendra Malik told the court that he had no involvement in the inspector’s murder,” he said.

A team of the army brought Malik from Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir late on Saturday and handed him over to officials of the STF in Meerut. He was shifted to Bulandshahar late at night, according to the police.

On December 3, a mob of about 400 people rampaged through a village in Bulandshahr after reports of cow carcasses being found in a jungle nearby. During the violence, inspector Subodh