Meerut (UP):

Police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 47, who met a violent end during clashes sparked over a cow carcass on Monday in Syana village of Bulandshahr, was also the investigation officer in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq allegedly over possession and consumption of beef at Bisada village in Greater Noida’s Dadri. Singh had collected all the circumstantial evidence after the incident, including the meat sample from Akhlaq’s house. However, there were allegations against him for a biased investigation after which he was transferred to Varanasi in the middle of the investigation, said sources. “He was the IO of the Akhlaq lynching case from September 28, 2015 to November 9, 2015. The chargesheet in the case was filed by a different IO in March 2015,” said UP ADG (law and order) Anand Kumar.

Originally a resident of Targana village in Etah, Singh joined UP Police in 1998 and spent considerable period of his police career in the Meerut zone, including Meerut, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar districts. Singh is survived by wife and two teenage sons.

A batchmate who didn’t wish to be identified said, “Singh will always be known for his stronghold over crime.

He was very hard-working and always had a smiling face. After being transferred from Bisadha, he was sent to Varanasi and later to Mathura where he was promoted. He was the SHO Vrindavan for a very long time before he was deployed in Bulandshahr.”

During an encounter in Vrindavan in January 2016, he had also suffered injuries. He took over as station officer of Syana just two months ago. Prashant Kumar, ADG (Meerut zone), said, “We have lost an able officer in this violence. We will ensure the perpetrators of this attack are not left unpunished. A high-level investigation is under way.”

(Inputs from Abhishek Awasthi in Greater Noida)

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh is survived by his wife and two sons