The meat in Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq’s home has been found to be beef. Fifty-two year-old Mohammad Akhlaq and his son Danish were attacked by a mob in Bisada in Dadri over rumours that they had slaughtered a cow and kept beef in their home. A fast track court had permitted the lawyers of the suspects in the case to get a copy of the forensic report which was submitted to the court in April.
Six people were initially arrested by police and a chargesheet was later filed against 18 people, including a local BJP leader’s son.
The earlier forensic had said that the meat recovered from Akhlaq’s home belonged to the goat progeny.
Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is. The police say they tested the meat only to establish the motive for Akhlaq’s killing.
Today’s report, Mr. Ahmed said, “does not diminish the case as murder is an offence”.
The meat in Akhlaq’s home was initially examined by a veterinary doctor in Dadri, whose analysis that it appeared to be mutton set off conspiracy theories, with the state’s Samajwadi Party alleging deliberate attempts to polarize the region.
The samples were sent for a final assessment to a government lab in Mathura, which has concluded that it was beef.
The report has been rejected by Akhlaq’s family, which has always denied eating beef on the day of the attack.
“Dadri police said mutton, now you are saying it is beef. This is all politics,” said Akhlaq’s brother Chand Mohammad.
The forensic report comes at a time political parties are prepping for high voltage elections in Uttar Pradesh next year.
Akhlaq was lynched on September 28, 2015. His wife Ikraman had alleged that 10-15 armed people barged into their house and started beating up her husband and son Danish with an intention to kill.
