A Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian from Uttar Pradesh on Sunday said the police team investigating last week’s mob violence in Bulandshahr district should also find out why a police inspector killed in the attack had not taken action on a complaint about alleged cow slaughter and smuggling, The Indian Express reported.

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and 20-year-old Sumit Kumar were killed in the violence that broke out on December 3 after residents allegedly found cattle carcasses in the fields of Mahaw village. At least nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence.

“Whatever has happened in Bulandshahr on December 3 leading to the death of the Siyana station house officer [Singh] in mob lynching is highly deplorable,” said Meerut MP Rajendra Agrawal. “But the probe team should also include within its purview why no action was taken by the SHO in connection with the FIR lodged regarding cow smuggling at the Siyana police station before the violence.”

Agrawal’s comments come days after a local BJP leader accused Singh of trying to stop the protestors from filing a complaint about the alleged cow slaughter. Shikhar Agarwal, the youth wing president of the BJP’s Siyana unit, has been named in the first information report filed in connection with the violence. Agarwal had accused Singh of creating a tense atmosphere to stop the complaint from being filed.

“If we have to uproot the menace of cow slaughter, we will have to look at all aspects, down to the police station level,” Rajendra Agrawal added.

The Meerut MP claimed that a few officers and policemen were trying to hinder Adityanath’s dream of ending cow slaughter. “I have lodged complaints of cow slaughter in areas under the Kithore and Bhawanpur police stations but the higher-ups have not paid any heed to my concerns,” he added.

Arrested soldier denies involvement

Meanwhile, the Indian Army soldier arrested in Kashmir in connection with Singh’s killing has claimed that he was just an onlooker and did not possess any firearm, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday. A judicial magistrate sent Jeetendra Malik to 14 days in jail on Sunday.

Malik reportedly told investigators that a villager had called him about the firing. After that he allegedly left the village and went back to duty in Jammu and Kashmir.