Cong chief writes letter to officer’s son, says killing ‘matter of national shame’

AGRA: In a condolence message to the family of station house officer (SHO) Subodh Kumar Singh, killed in Bulandshahr violence on December 3, Congress president Rahul Gandhi blamed increasing religious polarisation by ‘regressive forces’ for the incident.

“The Congress president’s letter was received on Monday. We appreciate his gesture,” said Abhishek Pratap Singh, the slain cop’s younger son. The letter, dated December 6, is addressed to Abhishek. At present, the family is in Taregawan, Singh’s paternal village in Etah district. In his letter, Gandhi said that it was “a matter of national shame that those tasked with upholding the rule of law are being killed in the name of religion”. He further alleged that “religious polarisation is increasingly being used by regressive forces to gain political mileage”.in the letter, Gandhi appreciated Singh for his courage and integrity, saying that bullets cannot silence such patriotism and commitment to humanity.

Abhishek said he would write a letter of thanks to Gandhi.

“Although an entire organisation cannot be blamed for the act of an individual, the organisations named should also come clear and avoid shielding the individuals suspected of killing my father. Even after a week, our wait for justice continues,” he said. ‘We do not want to indulge in a blame game, but the government certainly has a lot to answer for...,” he added.

The killings in the mob violence have been widely condemned by the opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh. The police have filed two FIRS – one in the mob violence case and the other over the alleged cow slaughter that allegedly led to mob violence.