The residents of Bisada village in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri region want the brother of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched, to be arrested for killing a calf, reports The Indian Express.
The residents are demanding his arrest despite police investigation revealing that Akhlaq’s brother, Jaan Mohammad, was not present at the alleged place of slaughter.
The villagers had filed a complaint against Akhlaq for cow-slaughter days before Eid last year – on 25 September 2015 – after a leaked report claimed that the meat found in Akhlaq’s refrigerator was that of a cow or its progeny.
On the night of 28 September 2015, a mob entered Akhlaq’s house, ransacked the refrigerator in his house, pulled him out of the house and killed him.
Mohammad’s Mobile Location Maybe his Alibi
A case was filed against the Akhlaq family after the report in June claimed that the meat found in Akhlaq’s house was that of a cow or its progeny.
A local court directed the Jharcha police station to file an FIR in the case. The Allahabad High Court, however, stayed the arrest of all the family members except Mohammad’s. A forensic scientists’ team has visited the village and Akhlaq’s home.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Jaan Mohammad said that he was unwell on the day the Akhlaq family is allegedly to have killed a calf.
I went to my office in Greater Noida at 6 am on 24 September last year and left around 10:30 am. My shift ends at 2 pm but I came home early because I had fever. I had also consulted the doctor at the private firm where I work. On 25 September, I left the house twice – to get milk and to offer namaz at a local mosque. Since I was unwell, I did not even go to the Eidgah. Some people visited me on the evening of 25 September. They have submitted affidavits to police.
The report also cites a senior UP Police source claiming that the location of Mohammad’s mobile phone proves that he was not in the area where the meat was allegedly found.
Sisodia’s Death Increases Push for Jaan Mohammad’s Arrest
Ravin Sisodia, one of the 18 accused in the Dadri lynching case died on Tuesday of kidney and respiratory failure.
Suspecting "foul play", his relatives along with other villagers refused to cremate Sisodia's body, which was kept in a freezer draped in the Indian flag. They staged protests and demanded a sum of Rs 1 crore, action against Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad, a job for one of Sisodia’s family members and a CBI probe.
His body was cremated days later, on Friday evening, after his family reached an agreement on compensation with the local authorities and the amount was increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh by the Uttar Pradesh government.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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