Family of Dadri lynching victim faces criminal charges

According to media reports, a court ordered a First Information Report (FIR) against slain Akhlaq's family, based on a petition by a neighbour in their village Bisada. Seven members of the family should be investigated for cow slaughter, the court said.

NDTV reported that according to the petition, which was backed by those accused in the lynching, the family had killed a calf and that Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad was seen slitting the throat of the animal.

Earlier there were reports that the sample test of the meat proved that it was beef.

The villagers where the man was lynched earlier had demanded that a 'Mahapanchyat' or a village court be held to decide on the move to be taken against Akhlaq's family for cow slaughter, which is prohibited in Uttar Pradesh. However, possession of beef is not forbidden.

Last year, on September 28 a mob forced their way into Akhlaq's home, beat the 56-year-old to death, and dragged his body out onto the street. A lab report said that meat collected from the scene of the crime had been established as that of "cow or its progeny".

The report, however, contradicted an earlier document which stated the sample was of mutton.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had questioned the authority of the new report submitted by the police in court.