No mention of 'beef' in UP govt's report to Centre on Dadri lynching

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has sent its report to the Union Home Ministry on the Dadri lynching episode in which a man was killed over rumours of alleged beef consumption.

“The report based on factual basis has been sent to the Central government last night,” a home department spokesman said in Lucknow on Tuesday. Declining to divulge the contents of the report, he said it is based on facts collected on mob violence in the area.

However, according to The Times of India, the report is a factual account of the incident as recorded in the FIR registered by the UP police. There is mo mention of beef in the report. “It merely states that Akhlaq and his son were attacked by some unidentified people over unconfirmed allegations of having consumed ‘pratibandhit pashu ka maans’ (meat of an animal banned from slaughter).”

The government also added in its report that it was still investigating and had not reached any conclusion yet. The report has no mention of any motive for Akhlaq’s killing.

50-year-old Akhlaq was dragged out of his home by a mob of 200 and beaten to death after a public announcement from the local temple that the family had slaughtered a calf and eaten its meat last Monday night in Bishada village.

Senior state officials including Principal Secretary (Home) Devashish Panda and DGP Jagmohan Yadav among others had visited the disturbed town soon after the incident. On October 1, the Home Ministry had sought a report on the Dadri incident from Uttar Pradesh government and advised the state government to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Concerned over communal incidents in Dadri and other places, the Centre had yesterday asked all states to take strictest action against those who attempt to weaken the secular fabric by exploiting religious emotions.

In a statement, the Home Ministry had said it was concerned over various incidents with communal overtones across the country including the recent “unfortunate” incident at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh where one person was lynched over rumours of eating beef.

When contacted, Panda said a factual report has been sent to the Centre. “We have sent the report to the Centre about the incident, action taken, the current situation and related incidents,” he said.

Panda said he could not say anything more as it was a matter between the state government and the Centre.

With PTI inputs.