Arjun Singh Kashyap, the general secretary of the Nishad Party’s Uttar Pradesh unit and one of the main accused for the murder of a constable in Ghazipur last month, surrendered in Varanasi on Monday in connection with a different case, The Indian Express reported. At least 36 people have been arrested in the case so far.

Kashyap was booked for the murder of head constable Suresh Pratap Singh Vats in Ghazipur on December 29. The 48-year-old policeman was killed after a mob started throwing stones at police personnel trying to disperse them. The protestors allegedly belonged to the Nishad Party, and had staged demonstrations earlier in the day to demand reservations for the Nishad community. They gathered again that evening to demand the release of four workers arrested by the police.

“He surrendered on Monday after getting his bail cancelled in an old case of rioting and protests on railway tracks in Ballia,” said Inspector General of Varanasi Range Vijay Singh Meena. “While we were looking for him since the killing of Vats in Ghazipur, we did not anticipate his surrender. We will now move court and ask for his remand.”

After Kashyap surrendered at the court of a railway magistrate, the police found that he was involved in at least six other cases involving charges of attempt to murder and charges filed under the Arms Act, the report added, citing sources.

Kashyap and other Nishad Party leaders have claimed that the accusations are politically motivated. They have blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for Vats’ death. But PV Rama Sastry, the additional director general of Varanasi zone, rejected the allegations and said the police have evidence against those accused in the case and not BJP members.