The official death toll in Mathura is 24, including two senior policemen. The guns and ammunition, which killed about 12 policemen, in Mathura’s Jawahar Bagh neighbourhood are suspected to have been smuggled into the sprawling 250-acre compound over which the Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena (SBSS) had encroached on. They came from eastern UP and bordering Bihar districts where illegal arms manufacturing units thrive.
The situation on the ground is still tense and many questions remained unanswered. How did the SBSS manage to smuggle weapons in, right under the police’s nose? Where did the guns and ammunition come from? Did the organisation have political backing?
There has also been no news on the identity of the SBSS members, killed in the incident, and the media has not been given access to those in police custody.
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