Lynching case in Dadri: Rahul meets victim Iqlakh's family, says touched by people's desire to maintain harmony

Rahul on Saturday reached Bishada village in Dadri and met the family of Iqlakh who was lynched following rumours that he ate beef.

Dadri: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached Bishada village here and met the family of a Muslim man lynched following rumours that he ate beef.

Rahul took to Twitter to confirm the news.

In Dadri to meet Mohammad Akhlaq's family

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 3, 2015

The Congress twitter handle, INC India, also put out pictures of Rahul interacting with the family members of the deceased.

Congress VP Rahul Gandhi in Dadri meeting Mohammad Akhlaq's family pic.twitter.com/O9wPzTf7UJ

— INC India (@INCIndia) October 3, 2015

"Met the family of Mohd Akhlaq and expressed my deepest condolences. It is very sad to see the trust and harmony built over decades, destroyed by the politics of hate. Hatred between our people weakens India. We have to stand together and fight those who spread it," Rahul Gandhi tweeted after meeting the victim's family.

Met the family of Mohd Akhlaq and expressed my deepest condolences

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 3, 2015

The Congress vice president further posted a series of tweets:

It is very sad to see the trust and harmony built over decades, destroyed by the politics of hate

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 3, 2015

Hatred between our people weakens India. We have to stand together and fight those who spread it

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 3, 2015

Was touched by the desire of people in Bisada to maintain harmony.This spirit will help the country go through tough times

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 3, 2015

Congress had earlier asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his "silence" and condemn the Dadri lynching incident.

Amidst a backlash against VIPs visitng the deceased Iqlakh's family, Delhi CM Arvind Kerjiwal, who was initially stopped from entering Dadri, had also visited the victim's family earlier today. However, Police said they did so to maintain the law and order.

Earlier in the day, over 500 Hindu women blocked roads leading to the village. They took out a procession, claiming journalists and politicians were biased in favour of the victim's community.

As a result, police were looking for young Hindu men with a view to arrest them, they complained.

In the latest development, the Uttar Pradesh police today arrested two main accused — Shivam and Vishal — in connection with the Dadri lynching case. The total number of accused arrested has till now gone up to 10.

Yesterday, Mahesh Sharma, the local BJP MP, had also visited the victim's family and had stated that the killing was an "accident" which should not be given a communal colour and over which no politics should be done as it may prove to be "dangerous". Hyderabad MP Owaisi also met the dead man's family on Friday.

Contingents of Provincial Armed Constabulary and state police have been deployed across the village where prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people continued to be in force.

District Magistrate MP Singh had claimed that the situation was under control and reasoned that the incident should be treated as a "solitary case" and not a communal clash as no other Muslim family was affected.

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha also termed the lynching case as an "unfortunate incident" and added that his officers were in touch with the family.

"The family will be moved to a safe area soon," he told the media ahead of Air Force Day on October 8.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the kin of deceased.

On Friday, six persons were arrested in connection with the lynching case and a manhunt was launched to arrest the rest named accused in the case.

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the incident. The ministry has also asked the state government to ensure that there is no repeat of such incidents in the future.

50 year-old Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish was critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following rumours that the family had consumed beef.