NOIDA : Five people have been arrested by the police on Monday in connection with the lynching death of 50- year-old Mohmmad Akhlaq in Bisara village, Dadri, Uttar Pradesh in September this year.
All the accused who are in their mid-twenties have been sent to judicial custody. One of them is a juvenile.
A total of 15 people have been arrested by the police till now for involvement in the case, in which Akhlaq and his son Danish were dragged out of their home and beaten with bricks.
“We arrested all of five from Bisara, after the statement given by Danish 15 days ago. They have been sent to judicial custody. Four more accused are absconding in the case for whom the search is on” Anurag Singh, Circle Officer of Dadri told Express.
The accused are Vinay, Anurag, Hari Om and Ravin and one juvenile, who by law cannot be named.
The accused have been arrested under section 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 458 (house-breaking), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace) of the Indian Penal Code.
On the evening of September 28, two boys allegedly used the local temple’s public announcement system to spread the rumour that the family of Mohammad Akhlaq had killed a cow and consumed its meat.
A mob soon gathered outside Akhlaq’s house and dragged the family out. Akhlaq and Danish were repeatedly kicked, hit with bricks and stabbed. Akhlaq’s elderly mother and wife were not spared the attack either. The family’s neighbours tried to stop the mob but could not succeed.
The police were called and they arrived an hour later. By then, Akhlaq was dead and Danish badly injured. Akhlaq’s elder son Mohmad Sartaz, 27, is a corporal in the Indian Air Force posted in Chennai.
The case has been discussed widely by the public, and sparked the debate on intolerance in the country.