Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was shot dead by a rampaging mob on December 3 in Bulandshahr.

BJP MLA Devendra Singh Lodhi has kicked off another controversy surrounding the Bulandshahr violence that killed police officer Subodh Kumar Singh. Lodhi said on Friday that the officer fired at himself, resulting in his death.

Subodh Singh died of a bullet wound in his head on December 3 when an angry mob led by right-wing leaders in Bulandshahr attacked a police station after finding cow carcasses in the village.

Lodhi said, "Subodh Singh found himself helpless in the crowd and wanted to fire at himself to save himself, but ended up shooting himself in the head."

On December 3, a mob of some 400 people, including right-wing activists, rampaged through the Chingrawathi village, apparently after cow carcasses were found strewn in a jungle nearby. The incident led to the deaths of the inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and 22-year-old undergraduate student Sumit Kumar.

The post-mortem report had found a bullet stuck inside Singh's skull and also six marks of injuries inflicted by stones.

Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj has been named as one of the several right-wing activists who instigated the mob to go on a rampage in the town.

On Thursday UP Police claimed to have arrested the man who allegedly shot inspector Singh and also identified the key accused as Prashant Nutt a resident of Bulandshahr.

While police sources said Nutt had confessed to having shot at Singh, a day after his arrest, Nutt told India Today TV outside a court that he never pulled the trigger.