NSA invoked against three arrested in Bulandshahr cow slaughter case

The Bulandshahr district administration on Monday invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against three people arrested in connection with the alleged cow slaughtering incident in Siyana tehsil last month, officials said.

Cattle carcasses were found strewn in the fields outside village Mahaw in Siyana on December 3 after which a mob went on the rampage, attacking the local Chingrawathi police post.

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 44, and civilian Sumit Kumar, 20, of Chingrawathi village were killed of gunshot injuries in the ensuing violence.

Two separate FIRs-- one for the violence in which nearly 80 people including 27 named and the other for cow slaughter-- were registered at the Siyana Police Station.

Seven people were arrested in the cow slaughter case, officials said, adding that three of them-- Azhar Khan, Nadeem Khan, Mehboob Ali-- were charged under the NSA.

"The three accused had applied for bail and there was a chance of them getting the bail. Keeping that in mind, the National Security Act has been invoked against them," District Magistrate Anuj Jha said.

"To maintain public order and amity, the three have been charged under the section 3 sub-section 3 of the NSA. The action has been taken based on a police report which stated that the trio indulged in cow slaughtering for earning money illegally," Jha added.

"Their acts have hurt the sentiments of Hindus in Mahav and Nayabans village after which the violence broke out in which people attacked the police with sticks and axe, among others, and Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was killed. This had disturbed public order and communal harmony," Jha said in a statement.

The district magistrate further said that if the trio was released on bail, they might tamper with evidence or engage in cow slaughter again which will disrupt public order.