India: After 3 years, Akhlaq's lynching by the mob in Dadri - select reports & commentary

1.

Printed from The Times of India

After 3 years, Akhlaq's village asks: Who gained from lynching?

TNN | Sep 28, 2018, 05.29 AM IST

BISADA: “In the end, who gained from it?” asks Chhotu Khan. It’s a question that lingers on all of Bisada, in conversations between villagers, in attempts to portray normalcy, in the uneasy silences and impatient retorts.

There’s a resolve to move on as well. But it’s easier said than done.

A house located in the centre of this predominantly Rajput village bears the scars from three years ago. Till September 27, 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq, who owned this house, was like any other resident of Bisada. The next day, a mob stormed his house and beat him to death, driven by rumour that Akhlaq had slaughtered a cow and kept beef in the house.

The country has since seen a series of mob attacks tied to vigilantism over cow protection. Bisada had scripted a notorious first which, three years on, the whole village wants to shake off. But the past is not easy to escape.

That’s why Chhotu Khan’s question resonates. “One should find out if those who orchestrated the entire incident have, if at all, stood to gain in any manner from it,” says the 26-year-old, who works with a private firm.

Today, Akhlaq’s house is in ruins. His family — mother, wife, younger son and daughter — moved to Delhi. Dense undergrowth covers the inner courtyard of the house. Broken glass, ceramic and plastic litters the first-floor terrace.

Inquiries in Bisada about the September 28, 2015 attack elicit few responses, talk of the lynching is not encouraged, and news reporters are not welcome. When you do get someone to talk, the message is common: life is “normal” in Bisada and there’s no communal tension.

“We still invite each other for marriages and functions. We socialise with everyone, irrespective of the community,” says Iqbal Khan (50), who works in the local water supply department of a government agency.

The point is reiterated by other households, who describe the lynching of Akhlaq as an “aberration”, and a “one-off” incident. “I have been living with my family in this village for several years. A couple of Muslim families indeed left the village after the incident. But no one ever forced us to leave. There has been no incident of violence or fight after the death of Akhlaq. We have never been threatened,” says Nissar (46).

No one wants to talk about the 18 accused named in the police charge sheet. They skirt the issue, saying it’s for the courts to decide. One of the accused, Arun Rana (32), claimed he had no idea why he was named in the charge sheet. “There was a crowd of nearly 1,000 people that mobbed Akhlaq’s house. We don’t know why police zeroed in on us. My family had to incur Rs 7 lakh in legal expenses to get me released from jail. It has strained our finances,” he says.

Rana used to work as an assistant to a veterinarian in a government hospital before September 2015. Now, he farms on family land, after spending 17 months in prison. A majority of the accused were in their early 20s when Akhlaq was murdered. Two of them were minors.

Vishal Rana (23) was in the first year of a degree course in pharmacy in RV Northland institute in Dadri. Released on bail after spending 22 months in prison, Vishal has dropped out. He spends most of his time in his family’s farm located along the borders of Bisada, Pyaoli and Tamolipur villages.

“I don’t wish to pursue studies any longer. Jail was a terrible experience. I don’t know what to do with my life either. I spend my time away from the village to avoid questions on the incident and unwanted conversations,” says Vishal.

After his release from jail, Vishal’s family took him on a religious tour to Haridwar and Vrindavan. His parents also “want to fulfill all his desires”, says his father Sanjay Rana. After Vishal’s release, they bought him a motorbike and plan to now buy him a Swift Dzire. “We’re living in fear of the future. They have spent months in jail. We don’t know what criminal company they fell into there. We don’t know what has been going through their minds after being released on bail,” explains Rana senior, who used to be a BJP worker.

He adds that while the men are with their families, they are safe. “But once away from home, we don’t know what they will do. This is a constant fear all the families of the accused have. So we take good care of them,” adds Rana, who owns several acres of land in Bisada and neighbouring villages.

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2.

The Indian Express

Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

With 45 court hearings since the case was registered, the trial is yet to begin as the city court is still hearing arguments on charges against the accused.

Written by Sukrita Baruah , Abhishek Angad | Dadri | Updated: September 28, 2018 6:57:27 am

The house where Akhlaq lived with his family in Dadri’s Bisara village. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) THREE RUSTED locks hang on three doors in the house where Mohammad Akhlaq and his family lived in Dadri’s Bisara village, the only Muslim home in a locality of Rajputs. Three years after 50-year-old Akhlaq was dragged out of his house and lynched on suspicion of possessing beef, his family says they can never return.
The family has not been able to rebuild their lives as the case against the 18 accused of killing Akhlaq drags on in a fast-track court.
With 45 court hearings since the case was registered, the trial is yet to begin as the city court is still hearing arguments on charges against the accused. According to the counsel for Akhlaq’s family, Yusuf Saifi, police had booked all accused under murder, rioting and unlawful assembly, among other charges. All accused have got bail. One of them, Ravin Sisodia, was hospitalised while in jail and later died.
“The case hasn’t even started, where is the question of it ending?” said Mohammad Jaan (50), Akhlaq’s younger brother. “…charges against the accused have not yet been framed, even though it is in what is supposed to be a fast-track court…,” he added.
“Even in the chargesheet which was filed by police almost three years ago, the only names are those which were put forward by Akhlaq’s daughter Shaista. Nothing has been done to identify and arrest additional suspects,” said Mohammad Jaan.
Saifi said that one of the main reasons for the delay is the defence lawyers putting up several ‘discharge applications’. “Some of the applications have been dismissed. Other applications, such as those asking for a CBI investigation, directing to register a case against Akhlaq’s family for possessing beef among others, have also been filed…In the last hearing in September there was a strike called by lawyers and the hearing did not happen,” he said.
Judges hearing the case, he said, have been changed twice, which added to the delay. “After cognizance was taken by a magisterial court, the case was committed to a sessions court. Since then, two judges have been transferred. Files have recently been placed before the third judge… It may take two-three hearings after which, hopefully, charges will be framed,” he said.
Express Opinion | Three years after the murder of Mohammad Akhlaq, there is no remorse in his village. There is a sense of menace
Ram Saran Nagar, lawyer for five accused, said, “Various lawyers of other accused filed many applications. There are a lot of cases pending in this court in general. The case is marked for disposal of previous applications.”
Akhlaq’s elder son Mohammad Sartaj, a corporal in the Air Force, told The Indian Express that he, his siblings and mother were not ready to talk to the media. “The trauma of that incident and the aftermath is not something we want to relive by talking about it and discussing our lives,” he said.
Sartaj (29), Shaista (23), their brother Danish (25) who was also assaulted and injured by the mob which killed his father, their mother Ikraman (43) and grandmother Asgari (78) live in the Air Force quarters in Delhi’s Subroto Park, where they moved after the incident as they felt that being eyewitnesses made Shaista, Danish and Ikraman vulnerable.
Danish is currently studying to appear in competitive exams for state services. “He has an operation due for the injury which he received on his head. We are also looking for a match for Shaista, but we want to finalise Danish’s job first. Trauma, weaknesses and age have taken a toll on my sister-in-law’s health,” said Jaan.
Jaan still works with the multi-national corporation he has been a part of for almost 30 years and lives in Dadri town, with his elder brother who works in the Indian railways.
“Every year, during Bakrid, we feel the loss more deeply. The family has not celebrated Eid since the incident,” said Jaan.
The family is also dealing with the cow-slaughter case which was registered against them in 2016. In August that year, the Allahabad High Court stayed the arrest of all the family members except Mohammad Jaan. However, Jaan said that neither has the chargesheet been filed nor has there been any attempt to arrest him. “It is just hanging over me and no action has been taken. Four months ago, some of the accused and their guardians came to my house appealing to me to withdraw the case and offering to withdraw the counter-case in return… Let the case be pursued, I am not afraid,” he said.
According to CO Dadri Satish Kumar Sharma, the filing of the chargesheet has been delayed because the final report on the meat sample has not been submitted to the police yet. “After the test in Mathura which showed that the sample belonged to a cow or its progeny, the sample was transferred and is currently in the Forensic Science Laboratory in Lucknow,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 17 accused who were released on bail in 2017 live in Bisara where the common refrain is “Yahaan maahaul ab badhiya hai (The atmosphere here is splendid)”. While most villagers refer to the September 28, 2015 incident as an “accident,” they also acknowledge the manner in which it shook the nation.
“We have this word now, which is always being used — mob-lynching. Whenever any incident of a group beating up a person occurs, the public refers to Bisara. Bisara’s name will rise to prominence and be dragged through the mud again before the 2019 election,” said Om Mahesh, whose son Vinay is one of the accused.
Hari Om Sisodia (28), another accused, is now being fielded by the Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena as their candidate from Gautam Budh Nagar constituency for the Lok Sabha elections. “I and the other 17 spent two years in jail when we are innocent. We have not been proven guilty, but we are treated like social outcasts. We were promised jobs in NTPC Ltd last year but didn’t get them. No one is willing to employ us and nobody, not even the BJP, is supporting us. I am contesting the election because there is no one else to help us,” he said.
Saifi, meanwhile, has his hopes pinned on the recent Supreme Court verdict on the lynching and mob violence.
“The Supreme Court had said that cases which fall in this category shall preferably be concluded within six months…However things are moving at snail’s pace.” He claims to have submitted an application in the Additional Sessions Court after the SC judgement for speedy disposal of the case. “We all are banking on the SC verdict…however, there is no response to my application yet.”

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NDTV

"Will You Remain Silent?" - Akhlaq's Daughter On His 3rd Death Anniversary

Published: September 28, 2018 11:28 IST

On this day, September 28, three years ago, Mohammad Akhlaq, a resident of the Bisada village in the Dadri area of western Uttar Pradesh, was brutally killed in his own home by a mob of men on the accusation of cow slaughter. His younger son Danish was grievously injured. His mother was also badly hurt. Three years after this horrific killing and violence, charges have not yet been framed by the court, all the 18 main accused in his killing are out on bail, his home is locked up, his family have had to leave the village. Instead of getting justice, his family, including his teen daughter Shaista have to contend with a false case of cow slaughter foisted on them by a an individual linked to the murderers. The complaint which should have been outright rejected by the lower court, was admitted, and a police investigation ordered. This hangs like a sword over them, ever threatening. Even while their grief and trauma was raw and hurting, they had to go through the tense process of getting anticipatory bail.
Akhlaq's murder was the first in the type of lynchings which have become the hallmark of the Modi regime. A report by IndiaSpend has collated data which shows that between 2014 when Modi took office and March 2018, there have been 80 incidents of violent mob attacks in which 45 persons have been killed. There is no official record of cases of hate crime because there is no separate law for it. But the contours of Akhlaq's case are important to know as different dimensions of his murder are being repeated in case after case.

A mob had killed Mohammad Akhlaq and brutally beat up his son Danish in September 2015

Akhlaq, like most of those who have been similarly lynched after him, lived a life far removed from violence. There is no record of any dispute, leave alone a clash between him and his neighbours, all of whom testify to him being a peace-loving man who lived a quiet life with his family. There was not even a remote connection between the way he lived his life and his terrible violent death. This is true of almost all the victims of crimes committed in the name of the cow. There was nothing in their lives which represented enmity or violence. Even if one went by the grossly erroneous justification that the killing was a reflection of spontaneous anger against cow slaughter, in not a single case has there been actual evidence of such slaughter. The killings are political killings as they have been committed to further a specific political agenda of communal polarization and hate.
The lynchers in Akhlaq's case used the local temple to announce their manufactured lie. According to the statement the priest gave to the police, four young men, whom he identified and named, forced him to make an announcement that a cow had been slaughtered and its remains were lying in a drain near a transformer at the side of the village where Akhlaq's house stood. The call was that every Hindu should come out of their homes to defend the gau mata and their religion. These highly provocative statements were given from a supposed place of worship. Those who claim to be representing the interests of Hindus have no compunction in using centres of worship as centres of crime. There are numerous examples as to how communal violence gets fanned through provocative hate language from places of worship. Yet the law has no provision against such misuse of places of worship.
There was nothing spontaneous about the lynching. Bisada village had escaped any kind of communal violence, even during the violence which rocked the state of Uttar Pradesh after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Akhlaq's family members spoke of the close ties that had developed over the years across religious communities among their neighbours. During festive occasions, including Eid, food was sent from one house to another. Shaista used to go to the local school facing no problems. But things started changing in the period before the 2014 elections, with the aggressive communal campaign of the Sangh Parivar.

Family members of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched by a mob in Dadri over allegations of consuming and storing beef

At the state level, the government was then run by the Samajwadi Party. In this area of the state, the BJP gave Lok Sabha tickets to known communal elements, including those who were accused in the terrible Muzaffarnagar communal violence. After their victory, they were further emboldened. The first half of 2015 saw highly provocative campaigns. In March, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha of the RSS had given a call for national campaigns against so-called love jihad and against cow slaughter, and this was implemented with a vengeance in UP. The magazine Frontline reported that "According to senior officials in the Uttar Pradesh administration, there have been close to a hundred minor and major assault cases over alleged cow slaughter."
The planned campaign of the Sangh Parivar to target minorities on the issue of cow slaughter was reflected in the village too. Local BJP leaders led the campaign with provocative slogans and actions. On that terrible day, the ring leaders who committed the crime were known to be linked with the ruling party. The son of a local BJP leader was one of the first to be identified and arrested.
Top BJP leaders made the most offensive statements justifying the crime. The MP of the area and Minister of State in the BJP government termed it "an accident"; another described it as "a mistake committed by children"; the Vice President of the state unit declared that a mahapanchayat was being called to protest against the harassment of Hindus; a then Rajya Sabha member tweeted "Why should the responsibility to keep peace be on the Hindu community"? And through all this the Prime Minister did not say a word. It took ten days and only after a strong statement by the then President Pranab Mukherjee for him to criticize the violence - and that too, only obliquely.
The involvement of the Sangh Parivar through gau rakshak committees, and the defence of their criminal activities of harassing, bullying, intimidating and also the killing of Muslims with senior leaders of the BJP directly helping the accused in cases like Akhlaq, have now become commonplace. If Jayant Sinha can garland the killers of Alimuddin Ansari who was lynched in a similar case in Jharkhand, it is because he knows that this is acceptable to the leadership of his party. His ministerial colleague Mahesh Sharma had wrapped the body of one of the accused in the Akhlaq murder case in the national flag after he died of an illness in jail. Political patronage to the alleged killers has been a critical factor in the subversion of justice in the Akhlaq case and all the others that followed.

Union Minister Jayant Sinha with the men who killed a meat trader on suspicion of carrying beef

Just four days ago, the Supreme Court directed the government to implement the slew of orders it passed in July on a Public Interest Litigation or PIL against cow vigilantism. The court had said that people should know that they would invite the "wrath of the law" on themselves after such incidents.
The wrath of the law should first be faced by the Modi Government. It is responsible for non-compliance with the orders of the court. Although the government set up a committee under the Home Ministry to implement the orders, nothing substantial has been done. Most importantly, the court orders to consider a separate law for cases of mob lynching has not been implemented by the committee. Nor has the government made any move to implement the order to set up fast-track courts for all such cases.
Meanwhile, it is the benevolence of the flawed judicial process that is being extended to the killers in mob-lynching incidents.

Sartaj (L), the elder son of Mohammad Akhlaq who is a corporal with the Indian Air Force

In not a single case have any of the accused been punished. In the one case of Alimuddin Ansari where the lower court had found the accused guilty and sentenced them, the High Court came to their rescue, acquitting some and allowing bail to the others. In almost every other case, the accused are out on bail. In Akhlaq's case, every trick in the book has been used to ensure that even the charges have not been filed. The lawyer in the Akhlaq case, Yusuf Saifi, has received threats to give up the case. The security protection given to him has been withdrawn by the present Uttar Pradesh government. A key witness, the local priest, has been declared as untraceable by the police. It is a shameful travesty of justice.
Three years after the murder, the family of Akhlaq are without their home; Akhlaq's eldest son, employed in the defence services, is now looking after them along with his own wife and children. Their mother is unwell and is being medically treated, They need help to rebuild their lives, Danish needs a job, Shaista needs assistance to finish her higher secondary exams so that she can follow her wish to study fashion designing. Their spirit remains unbroken. Yesterday the two siblings joined a solidarity dharna organized by the All India Democratic Women's Association at Jantar Mantar. Speaking to the assembled crowd, Shaista said, "They took my Abu from me, but am I expected to remain silent? Should you remain silent? It was my Abu they killed three years ago, tomorrow it could be anyone's. Once humanity is lost, nothing can remain.I believe in justice and that is why I am here to fight for it."
Brave words from a brave daughter. But are we listening?

Brinda Karat is a Politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former Member of the Rajya Sabha.