Residents of Dadri village on Wednesday demanded release of all the 18 accused who allegedly lynched Mohammad Akhlak over rumours about his family having eaten beef last September. The village had been tense over the arrest of the accused since last week when the villagers did not celebrate Holi as a mark of protest against the “one sided action” by the administration in the case. As the resentment grew over arrest of 18 youths of Bishahra, villagers intensified their protest on Wednesday demanding a CBI enquiry in the case and release of the accused of Akhlak's lynching till the completion of the CBI enquiry.
A large number of women protesters came out of the village and blocked the road which connects the vicinity to the NTPC power plant in Dadri. Bishahra residents also boycotted government social schemes including midday meal and public ration distribution system. To ensure that the tension does not result in any communal flare up, the administration deployed security personnel in the village.
Eighteen people from the village, including Vishal Rana, son of the local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, were arrested on charges of murder and assault. It has been six months since Mohammad Akhlak, fifty-two-year old resident of the village was lynched by a village mob and his son Danish critically injured at their house, some thirty kilometers away from the national capital in Bishahra village in Dadri subdivision of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh.
A section of the village including fathers of the accused formed “sangharsh samiti” to “get their children released.” The samiti announced that it would organise a “mahapanchayat” of all the 144 villages in the vicinity which are dominated by the socially influential Thakur community, in order to demand a CBI enquiry and immediate release of the 18 accused in the case.
The samiti which includes the village head Sanjay Pradhan and a local BJP worker Sanjay Rana whose son Vishal and nephew Shivam were arrested over accusations of lynching Akhlak, gave a tentative date of April 10 for the “mahapanchayat”. The administration however, turned down the permission to hold any such meeting as prohibitory orders are imposed in the district.
“We will decide our next plan of action now that that the permission to organise the Mahapanchayat was denied,” the village head Mr. Pradhan told The Hindu .
The reason behind the demand for the release of those who allegedly lynched Akhak, is a widespread feeling among the villagers that the action in the lynching case was “one sided”. They believe that no action was taken for the “cow slaughter” which they believe, had actually led to the lynching. The narrative dominant in the village holds that a cow was indeed killed by Akhlak even though prima facie there was no evidence to back their claims. The primary veterinary report had declared the meat seized from Akhlak's fridge to be that of “goat progeny”.
The villagers plan to further intensify their protest if the local police does not submit the forensic report of the meat recovered from Akhlak's fridge.
“We fail to understand the reason behind police's failure in submitting the forensic report in the trial court. What do they have to hide?,” Ombeer Singh, father of one of the accused told The Hindu .
Meanwhile, Sartaj, the elder son of Akhlak, told The Hindu that he had earlier categorically told the State government that his family was "completely satisfied" with the ongoing probe by the State government in the case.
