UP moves to withdraw case against all accused in 2015 Akhlaq lynching

Ten years after the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Greater Noida's Dadri, the Uttar Pradesh Government has moved to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 case that had sparked nationwide outrage.

Additional District Government Counsel Bhag Singh Bhati on Saturday said the state had sent a formal request for the withdrawal of prosecution.

Speaking to the media, Bhati said, “A letter has been received from the government regarding the withdrawal of the case against all the accused in the Akhlaq case. The application was submitted before the Surajpur court (Gautam Buddha Nagar) on October 15 and will be heard on December 12.”

Advocate Yusuf Saifi, who represents the Akhlaq family, said he had not yet seen the official documents. "I have only heard about it. I will be able to comment after examining the documents before or on the date of the hearing," he said.

Akhlaq (52), a resident of Bisada village in Greater Noida, was dragged out of his house and beaten to death by a mob on September 28, 2015, after announcements over a loudspeaker allegedly claimed he had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator. His younger son Danish sustained serious injuries while trying to save him.

Was mutton, not beef

Meat taken from Akhlaq’s house was mutton, not beef

Was lynched by a mob after being dragged out of house

Accused were seated in front row at Yogi’s 2019 LS poll rally

Both were assaulted until they fell unconscious. They were taken to a private hospital in Noida where Akhlaq was declared dead, while Danish was later referred to the Army R&R Hospital in Delhi. Akhlaq's elder son Mohammad Sartaj was a corporal-ranked technician in the Indian Air Force and was posted in Chennai at the time of the attack.

The UP Police filed a chargesheet against 15 persons, including Vishal Rana, son of a local BJP leader, as the main accused who allegedly led the mob to Akhlaq’s house. All the accused facing trial in the case are currently out on bail. In 2019, a controversy erupted after Rana and other accused were found sitting in the first row at a rally which UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed in favour of Gautam Buddha Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma.

On the complaint of Akhlaq’s wife, the police filed an FIR under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (assault), 504 (intentional insult to disturb peace), among others, of the IPC at the Jarcha police station.

In a preliminary inquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary Department in 2021, it was found that the meat recovered from Akhlaq’s house was not beef, but mutton. The police also found that the trigger for the rumour was an announcement by a temple priest that a “cow had been slaughtered”.