Dadri lyching: Court orders FIR against Akhlaq’s family

14 July, Greater Noida

A court here Thursday ordered an FIR against the kin of Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq for alleged cow slaughter, on a petition filed by a neighbour in their village Bisada.

In September last year, Akhlaq was lynched by a frenzied crowd over alleged consumption of beef. The petition, backed by those accused of Akhlaq’s murder, alleges that his family had killed a calf and that his brother Jaan Mohammad was seen slitting the throat of the animal.Earlier, a forensic report said that the meat found in a dustbin outside Akhlaq’s home was beef or the meat of “a cow or its progeny”.

Following this, a big meeting or mahapanchayat was held at the village, in which demands were raised for action against Akhlaq’s family. Some of villagers had also met police officials in this regard.Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh but cow slaughter is a non-bailable offence that carries a punishment of up to seven years in jail.

Local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, whose son was among 18 arrested for Akhlaq’s murder, hailed the court decision.”This is a victory of justice. I will go back to villagers with the court order. I will study the full order and then call a panchayat (village meeting) over it,” Rana told a TV channel.