Boys, 11 And 12, Named For UP Cow Slaughter; Spent 4 Hours With Police

Two children, 11 and 12, have been named as accused in a case filed over cow slaughter allegations that led to a frenzied mob murdering a police officer in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandhshar.

The boys, who are cousins, are among seven named in a complaint of cow slaughter filed after carcasses were found strewn around in a forest near village Nayabans in Bulandshahr.

The complainant, Yogesh Raj, is a Bajrang Dal activist who is the main accused in mob killing of inspector Subodh Kumar Singh. He is missing since the incident.

Yogesh Raj is seen in a video arguing with the police and demanding action against cow slaughter on Monday, shortly before the situation went out of hand and a mob attacked policemen, burnt the police outpost and set vehicles on fire.

Yogesh Raj's complaint includes two children, one man who does not live in the village anymore, and three names the villagers have never heard.

Inspector Subodh Kumar was killed in mob frenzy over cow carcasses found near a village in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr

The village is stunned that children have been named for cow slaughter. The father of one of the boys says they were not even in the village the day of the incident.

"The police came to our house, called us to the police station and kept us there for four hours. They took the names of the boys and took my phone number. I was told we should be called again if required," the father said.

So six of the seven names in the cow slaughter case are doubtful, NDTV learnt from inquiries in the village. One of the "accused" lives in Faridabad in Haryana and has not stayed in the village in 10 years.

Sources in the UP police say any questioning or arrests will take place only after an investigation. Asked about the children's names as accused, they said they were duty-bound to include the names as given to them by the complainant.