Violence in Dadri increasing due to visits by politicians, says accused's father; claims his son is innocent

Dadri: Even as politicians continue to make a beeline in Dadri after Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched, the father of one of the accused has claimed that political leaders should stop visiting the village.

"The statements and the blame game being played by politicians is increasing the violence in the village. The ministers should stop visiting the village. We should be left to ourselves and there will be no violence," Rajesh Rana, father of one of the accused in the case said.

He also claimed that the police is not handling the case well. "Ikhlaq was like a brother to me. The allegations about my son are completely untrue," Rana said.

The victim's wife, daughter and other relatives met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Sunday. "We met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to seek justice. We want justice to be served," said the victim's brother.

Akhlaq was beaten to death by a mob on Monday night after a public announcement from the local temple that a calf had been slaughtered and his family had eaten beef.

His 22-year-old son Danish who was also attacked is battling for life at a hospital following two brain surgeries. The incident has sparked outrage in the country, with parties attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party alleging that the killing was a result of its "politics of hatred".

Trying to score brownie points, BJP MLA Sangeet Som, who is the main accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots has hit out at the state government for protecting people who indulged in cow slaughter and for playing politics of appeasement.

Slamming the state police for taking one-sided action, he said that it was actually Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi who are disturbing peace in the region.

"Families that indulged in cow slaughter are given protection. The UP government is taking one-sided action. Azam Khan and Asaduddin Owaisi are trying to disturb peace in the area," said Som.

Backing Som, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj accused the Samajwadi Party government of indulging in dirty politics. "This is politics of appeasement by the UP government. The government is insensitive towards such issues. The UP government has different policies for Hindus and Muslims," said Maharaj.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed the lynching of a man in Dadri as "unfortunate" and said it should not be given any "communal colour". "It was an unfortunate incident. But it is not proper to give communal colour to it. The incident should not be politicised," Singh said.