New Delhi: According to the chargesheet filed by the Uttar Pradesh police Special Investigation Team (SIT), Bajrang Dal convener and key accused Yogesh Raj exchanged several phone calls with other accused members hours before violence broke out in Bulandshahr which claimed the life of police officer Subodh Kumar Singh on December 3.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the accused, Sachin Ahlawat made a 28-second call to Yogesh Raj at 8.55 am, notifying him of an alleged cow slaughter incident in Mahav.

Subsequently, several phone calls were exchanged between Yogesh and other accused – Ashish Chauhan, Satish Chandra, Sachin Jat, Pavan, Satyendra and Vishal Tyagi – between 9 am and 10.30 am. Yogesh Raj’s point of location too changed from Nayabas to Siyana within 45 minutes of receiving the first call, the Indian Express reported.

Also Read: Timeline: How the Bulandshahr Violence Unfolded

The chargesheet, which was filed in March, further stated that:

“It is clear that the information of the cow-slaughter incident was given by accused Sachin Ahlawat to Bajrang Dal convenor Yogesh Raj. After this Yogesh directed the other accused to gather with their supporters at the scene of the crime. Yogesh and rest of the accused put the carcass on the tractor trolley and carried it in front of the Siyana police station on Bulandshahr highway and raised slogans against the police.”

The chargesheet also claimed that the route of the Iztema devotees, which is a three-day Islamic gathering that took place at Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh from December 1-3, was shifted from Aurangabad to Jahangirabad which could have resulted in riots on an “unimaginable” scale

The SIT has also held that Bajrang Dal activists “led” the gathering that accumulated outside the police station. “The crowd was responsible for destroying State property and the violence was incited to create law and order problems. Objectionable slogans were raised against the police”, asserted the chargesheet.

While the tractor and the licensed pistol from the incident are yet to be recovered, the SIT has listed more than 55 prosecution witnesses and 44 exhibits – including a report of the crime-scene recreation by experts.

Also Read: Bulandshahr and Dadri Share a Narrative of Political Apathy to Everyday Violence

The total number of accused held in the case has gone up to 35, including the key ones – Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, Shikhar Agarwal, Prashant Natt, who police say shot and killed Singh and Kalua – who had attacked the policeman with an axe, cut off his fingers and wounded him on the head.

A separate FIR was lodged by the police for alleged cow slaughter on a complaint filed by Raj. Some of the men who Raj claimed slaughtered the cow were later found innocent by the Special Investigation Team.

The Wire earlier reported that the police believed that it was the allegation of cow slaughter that led to the violence and the killing of Singh, and therefore needed to be investigated first.