Six men arrested for Bulandshahr mob violence in which a police inspector was killed last year, were released on bail on Saturday. After spending over six months in Bulandshahr jail, the accused were given heroes' welcome by the locals.

Videos recorded by local journalists showed that two key accused - Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member Shikhar Agarwal and Jeetu Fauji - were among those who were welcomed with garlands and chants of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.

An NDTV report identified other accused as Hemu, Upendra Raghav, Saurav and Rohit Raghav. They were arrested in the days following the violence in which UP police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was found dead inside his SUV.

Seven accused in Bulandshahr violence, where an inspector was killed by a mob last year, were released on bail recently. The accused including one of the key conspirators Shikhar Agarwal got hero's welcome amid sloganeering of "Jai Shree Ram" and "Vande Mataram". pic.twitter.com/iAA122cdU5 — Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) August 25, 2019

Over 40 people were arrested by the police following the incident with Agarwal and Fauji being key accused.

The Inspector and a local youth were killed in Bulandshahr's Syana area last year when a mob went on a rampage over allegations of cow slaughter.

The violence had erupted after carcasses of 25 cattle were found in the forests outside Mahaw village. Locals had alleged the carcasses were of cows, slaughtered illegally.

Protesting against the alleged cow slaughter, angry villagers and members of various Hindu groups brought the animal remains in a tractor-trolley to the Chingarwathi Police Chowki and demanded action against the culprits.

They raised slogans against the police administration and blocked the Bulandshahr-Garh State Highway. In the ensuing violence, Inspector Singh, 44, who was posted at the Siana Police Station, suffered a gunshot injury in addition to wounds from hard and blunt objects.

A 20-year-old youth, Sumit Kumar, was also killed in the violence.