By Aliza Noor
Changing statements by Mohammad Akhlaq’s family…”
“No possession of firearms by the accused…”
“For the larger purpose of restoring communal harmony…”
These are some of the reasons cited by the Uttar Pradesh government as it seeks to drop all charges — including murder — against the accused in the Dadri lynching case, nearly a decade after the incident.
In the copy of the file submitted by the state in the upper sessions court, which The Quint accessed, the state has invoked Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows a public prosecutor to withdraw from a prosecution case with the court’s consent.
On the night of 28 September 2015, fifty-two-year-old Akhlaq and his son Danish were dragged out of their home in Bisada, Dadri. A mob attacked them following an announcement at a temple that the family had consumed beef. Danish survived, but Akhlaq did not.
This story was originally published in thequint.com.
