Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday questioned the authenticity of the latest forensic report that identified the meat recovered from the house of the Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq as beef. Talking to reporters in Ambedkar Nagar, Mr. Yadav said “nothing objectionable” was found in Akhlaq’s house. Akhlaq was beaten to death by a mob in Bishahra village in Dadri last September following rumours that he stored cow meat.
“Where was the [meat] sample sent? Who received it?” he said. The State was keenly watching the matter and justice would be delivered to the family of the victim.
Mr. Yadav’s statement invited a fresh offensive from the BJP, which questioned the rationale behind the claim. It said the forensic report had exposed the “truth and lies” about Bishahra village. The party accused the State government of hatching a “conspiracy” and “concealing” the truth in collusion with other “secular” parties to defame the Modi government.
The latest report by a forensic lab in Mathura had contradicted an earlier report submitted by the U.P. veterinary department that the meat stored in Akhlaq’s house was mutton. The BJP has now demanded that an FIR be lodged against Akhlaq’s family for “cow slaughter.”
State BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said the “government should honour the demands of the people of Bishahra and register an FIR against the accused [Akhlaq’s family]”. BJP MP Yogi Adityanath demanded that the government withdraw facilities extended to Akhlaq’s family and release the “innocent Hindus” arrested for his murder.
