Bulandshahr case: Phone of slain cop found in house of prime accused

MEERUT: The Uttar Pradesh police have recovered six mobile phones from the residence of the main accused in inspector Subodh Kumar Singh’s killing in the December 3 mob violence at Syana in Bulandshahr district.

Syana police circle officer Ravindra Kumar Mishra said one of the six phones recovered from Prashant Natt’s house in Chingrawathi village on Saturday appears to be that of Singh. “Once it is established, it will help the police prove that Natt was at the crime spot and took away the phone after killing the inspector,” said Mishra. Mishra said Natt’s family has been asked for the documents for the other five phones to identify their owners.

Singh was killed along with a local resident when a mob went on a rampage over alleged cow slaughter in the district. He was cornered and attacked with stones and an axe before Natt, a taxi driver, allegedly shot him dead. Singh’s two mobile phones and a pistol had gone missing after his killing. The police are yet to recover the pistol even as Natt was arrested on December 27.

As many as 37 accused in the case have either been arrested or have surrendered. They include Bajrang Dal’s Yogesh Raj, BJP leader Shikhar Agarwal, and Upendra Raghav of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Raj and Agarwal were arrested while Raghav surrendered to a court. Police had booked 27 and at least 60 unidentified people for Singh’s killing on December 3. The state government has separately booked Azhar Khan, Nadeem Khan, and Mehboob Ali under the National Security Act (NSA) for the alleged cow slaughter that sparked the violence.