Bulandshahr violence: Omar Abdullah calls out UP CM Yogi Adityanath for making slain cop's family travel to Lucknow

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has taken on Yogi Adityanath over a specific aspect of the latter's handling of the aftermath of the killing of a police officer in the alleged Cow vigilante-related violence that broke out in Bulandshahr, in which one other person, a 20-year-old civilian named Sumit, was also killed.

UP Chief Minister Adityanath, who received considerable flak from Opposition members for campaigning in Telangana despite violence breaking out in his state, on Thursday met with the family members of inspector Subodh Kumar Singh who was killed in the violence. The meeting took place at the Chief Minister's residence in Lucknow -- something that Omar Abdullah has questioned.

Responding to a journalist's tweet that recognised the fact that the murdered police officer's family had to travel to Lucknow, the JKNC chief made a comparison with his own state, concluding:

On Monday, Yogi Adityanath had declared a compensation of Rs 40 for the wife of Inspector Subodh, Rs 10 lakh for his parents and a government job for a member of the grieving family. Late on Wednesday evening, he is said to have held a meeting with senior bureaucrats in the state over the matter. 

As per an official spokesperson, the UP CM was of the view that the incident "is part of a bigger conspiracy, and hence all those directly or indirectly related to cow slaughter should be arrested in a time-bound manner". His purported focus on cow slaughter and not cow vigilantism has also drawn flak.

Additionally, amid allegations of conspiracy over how Subodh Kumar, who had earlier been the investigating officer in the 2015 Akhlaq lynching case, was killed, the main accused persons are still on the run and have even released videos protesting their innocence and attempting to slander the murdered officer. There have also been allegations of serious lapses and deliberate fudging in the FIRs that have been filed in the case, with persons as young as 12-years old named as accused.

The violence had broken out on Monday after villagers found alleged remains of a Cow and its progeny near Bulandshahr. As oer the UP police, they brought the animal remains in a tractor-trolley to the Chingarwathi Police Chowki and demanded action against the culprits. They (the villagers) raised slogans against the police administration and blocked the Bulandshahr-Garh highway. They set a police post on fire and clashed with the police, following which the killings took place.