Man brutally killed by mob over beef consumption Posted by: Pallavi Sengupta Updated: Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 11:45 [IST] Share this on your social network: FacebookTwitterGoogle+ Comments (1) Mail Dadri (UP), Sept 30: In a horrifying incident, a 50-year old man was beaten to death by a mob on Monday night, for allegedly eating beef. Mohammad Akhlaq and his son (22) was dragged out of the house in Dadri, UP, and brutally beaten with bricks. While Akhlaq died immediately, his son incurred serious injuries. ' However, before attacking the duo, th emob broke into his house and also attacked the women. Akhlaq's wife said,"My husband was bleeding. His head was smashed. They beat the family...my husband had no enemies.." Surprisingly, the assault did not stop even after the police arrived. About 6 men were arrested from the spot. Akhlaq's daughter said that they had mutton in the refrigerator and nothing else. This has been retrieved and sent for forensic tests. Interestingly, the family had lived in the village for over 3 decades. Police is now investigating as to how the rumor spread. Tension soars in the area as people clash with the police after the incident. The police was forced to fire in the air to stop the agitation.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMohammad Akhlaq was a farm worker
A 50-year-old man in northern India has been killed in a mob lynching allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.
Mohammad Akhlaq was kicked and beaten with stones by a group of men in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday night.
Mr Akhlaq's 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack, and has been admitted to a hospital.
Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident. Police are probing who spread the rumour.
Slaughter of cows is a sensitive issue in India as the animal is considered sacred by Hindus, who comprise 80% of the country's 1.2bn people.
Uttar Pradesh is among a number of Indian states who have tightened laws banning cow slaughter and the sale and consumption of beef.
The beef ban has also provoked outrage with many questioning how the government decides what is on their plate.
Mr Akhlaq's family said the family had stored mutton, and not beef in their fridge. The police have taken the meat and sent it for testing, reports said.
"Some locals spread rumours that Akhlaq had cow meat at his home and engaged in cow slaughter. Following the rumours, they attacked his home," senior local official NP Singh told The Indian Express newspaper.
Senior police official Kiran S told the AFP news agency that the "announcement about the family consuming beef was made at a [local] temple".
The incident happened in a village, barely 50km (31 miles) away from the Indian capital, Delhi, where Mr Akhlaq, a farm worker, lived with his family.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionRelatives mourn the death of Mohammad Akhlaq in the villageImage copyrightHindustan TimesImage captionLocal villagers protested against the arrests and clashed with the policeImage captionMr Akhlaq's family says a temple made an announcement that they had consumed beefImage captionThere is tight security outside Mr Akhlaq's house
His 18-year-old daughter Sajida told the newspaper that a "group of more than 100 people from the village" reached the house on Monday night.
"They accused us of keeping cow meat, broke down our doors and started beating my father and brother. My father was dragged outside the house and beaten with bricks," she said.
"We had come to know later that an announcement had been made from the temple about us eating beef...There was some mutton in the fridge...The police have taken it for examination."
Reports said local villagers, protesting against the arrests, had clashed with the police, and damaged a number of vehicles.
Eleven states - including Uttar Pradesh - and two union territories (federally-administered regions) in India ban slaughter of cows, calves, bulls and bullocks.
AFP
AFP
Hindustan Times
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