Dadri lynching case: Blame game continues, Home Ministry seeks report from UP govt

New Delhi: Amid a blame game over lynching of a 50-year-old man in Dadri by a mob, allegedly over consumption of beef, the Home Ministry on Thursday sought a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh government over the incident.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also asked the Samajwadi Party government in UP to ensure that no such incident occurs in future.

The Home Ministry intervened in the matter shortly after Union Minister Mahesh Sharma termed the lynching of a 50-year-old man Iqlakh in Dadri by a mob three days ago as an "accident" and cautioned that no "communal colour" should be given to it.

"Two other families live with the affected family in the middle of the village and their walls adjoin with others. About 10-12 houses of other community are in the outlying part of the village but no incident concerning them has happened," he said.

"I feel this incident occurred due to some misunderstanding and the law should truthfully act against whoever is responsible for it," Sharma said.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh's Urban Development Minister Azam Khan also blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the incident.

Taking on Narendra Modi, Khan said, “Prime Minister, please rein in your volunteers. Life, politics and posts are not forever but infamy remains forever. You have not been able to wipe out Gujarat taint and until this world lives, it will never be wiped out. Don’t make your volunteers do these things. Where are you taking the country to?”.

The victim's family, meanwhile, is planning to move out of the village fearing that it may happen again.

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

Iqlakh's other son, Sartaj, who serves in the Indian Army, demanded punishment for the murderers of his father.

"Those arrested murdered my father. I want to know the reason for which they did this to him. They should be punished so that none from the village would dare to such deed in future," he said.

Expressing apprehension over danger to the life of his remaining family members, Sartaj said that he is planning to move out of the village as the incident could repeat again.

"Our lives are in danger. I'm planning to move from here. We will move from here because this can happen again anytime. Who will ensure us that this won't happen again?" he asked.

Sartaj denied any knowledge about any tension, saying that he had talked to his "ailing" father about half an hour before the incident and everything was "fine".

"As far as I know, there wasn't any tension. Everything was normal. I spoke to my father an hour before the incident and asked about his well being, he was suffering from typhoid and his BP was below normal. Rest everything was fine till then. 25 minutes after the incident I came to know my father was beaten to death. He was dragged outside the house, obviously neighbours were involved," he said.

The incident drew sharp condemnation from political parties.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the victim.  

A case has also been registered against 10 people, of whom six have been arrested.