Bulandshahr violence: Slain UP cop was loving father, good friend, tough officer

ETAH/BULANDSHAHR: Selfies of his family taken by Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh over the years fell into a pattern — his wife and he in front, his two sons clustering at the back. As his family and colleagues remembered the police officer killed by a rioting mob in Bulandshahr, the image that emerges is of a man devoted to his duty and those he loved, a natural leader trusted and admired by those who knew him.
Days after Subodh’s murder by a mob following an incident of alleged cattle slaughter in Bulandshahr, conversations TOI had with his colleagues, senior officers, family and friends revealed a man who led from the front, was serious about a police officer’s role in society and lived by secular tenets he tried hard to instill in his two young sons.
Subodh Kumar Singh with his family
The officer’s fellow cops remember him as a man for whom duty came first. “If I had to pick four policemen for any special assignment, he was always my first choice. He had all the leadership qualities and was very efficient in dealing with the public. Also, he was up to handling the toughest of situations,” said Swapnil Mangain, commandant at 41st battalion, Provincial Armed Constabulary, Meerut, who was SSP in Mathura when Singh was posted there.
“I worked with Subodh at Vrindavan for eight months. I don’t know about the people of Bulandshahr, but I know people in Mathura cried when they heard about his murder,” said senior sub-inspector Avdhesh Kumar, station in-charge of Jait police station.
Police officials pay tribute to Subodh Kumar Singh
Subodh was the investigating officer in the Akhlaq lynching case in Dadri from September 28 to November 9, 2015. “He played an important role in the way the volatile situation was handled, and the investigation afterwards. The main accused were arrested quickly. He and I chaired peace committees in the days that followed. We managed to keep control of the situation,” said Anurag Singh, then circle officer of Dadri, now posted with ATS in Lucknow.
But if Subodh was admired by fellow cops, his “uprightness” also riled some. “He had the aura of an upright man in khaki which you seldom see. Politicians did not like that,” said Praveen Ranjan Singh, Bulandshahr superintendent of police (city).
“He would rarely toe the line when it came to political pressure. He was under immense pressure during the Akhlaq lynching probe to act in a certain way. He would listen to everyone but act on his conscience," said another cop, once his senior during the Noida posting.
Subodh Kumar Singh
Lovingly known as ‘Thakur’ among friends and family, Subodh Kumar Singh also had a sense of humour, cracking jokes in tense situations during police operations. Fond of food, cinema and biking, he had a larger-than-life aura.
Atul Kumar Singh, ex-soldier of Indian Army and elder brother of Subodh, said, “Right from childhood, he was a fearless person and accepted every challenge thrown at him. In the past, he had taken three bullets in police operations, but he never worried.”
Subodh joined the police force in 1998 after his father sub-inspector Rampratap Rathore’s death. At that time, he was pursing his BA in Jawaharlal Nehru Degree College, Etah. He met his future wife Rajani there.
“I loved that man for his bravery,” Rajani told TOI. “In his entire career he faced lots of threats from the mafia, gangsters and even politicians, but he never backed down. He was shot in the neck during a special operation group posting in Meerut. On several occasions, I asked him to quit the job, but he was passionate about his profession.”

Shrey, eldest son of Subodh, said his father has left him with precious lessons. “Treat everyone equally. Be fair. That’s what he told us.” It’s something bother Abhishek also carries in his heart. “By nature he was secular and the religious identity of any criminal never mattered to him. He wanted me to be a lawyer. He was my role model.”