Don’t Chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ for Killers: Lynched Inspector’s Family

Video Editor: Varun Sharma & Anthony Rozario

Having sat through multiple interviews throughout the day, Rajni Singh settles down with a glass of water at her Gaur City residence. “They should have been boycotted from society. Instead they are being respected and felicitated,” she says, referring to the garlanding of men who have been charged with the murder of her husband, Inspector Subodh Kumar.

In December 2018, the police officer was lynched by a mob comprising over 400 men, who had gathered near Bulandshahr’s Siyana, after the news of a cow carcass being found in a nearby jungle heightened tensions in the village. Following the incident, several were arrested, including the seven whose felicitation outside the jail took Kumar’s family by surprise.

The supporters not only garlanded the accused, but also chanted Jai Shri Ram and Vande Mataram.

“Every Indian has the right to chant Vande Mataram and Jai Shri Ram. But if you use these chants to glorify the accused, then it’s an insult to these slogans.”

Rajni Kumar

Not the Right Message

Inspector Subodh Kumar’s son Shrey feels that the garlanding of those out on bail could send a wrong message to others, who would no longer be afraid of the law. “Those who were involved in violence had the audacity to kill a policeman on duty. Who knows what they could do in the future? If you let such people scot-free, they will influence and inspire others,” he says, adding this single factor “scares him the most.”

Among the seven out on bail is Shikar Agarwal, a local BJP youth-wing leader. Commenting on the political identities of some of the accused, Shrey maintains that if some people were trying to use their proximity to a political party or politician, they would fail. “The law may be blind, but it doesn’t turn a blind eye,” he says.

Both Shrey and his mother demanded that the bails of all seven be cancelled and that justice be done to Inspector Subodh.