A forensic report on the death of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri’s Bisara village of India’s Uttar Pradesh after a mob attacked him and his son Danish over rumours that they ate beef, has confirmed that the meat found in the victim’s house was mutton and not beef.
According to Indian media, police had sent the meat samples to Mathura for testing on September 28 and it has now been confirmed that it was mutton and not beef.
The 50-year-old Muslim man was dragged from his house on the outskirts of New Delhi and beaten to death by around 100 people on Monday night over rumours he had eaten beef.
Killing cows is banned in many states of India, a majority-Hindu country that also has sizeable Muslim, Christian and Buddhist minorities.
In March, the state of Maharashtra toughened its ban on even possessing beef illegal, a move seen by religious minorities as a sign of the growing power of hardline Hindus since nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
The rumours that the family had eaten been began when a calf was reported missing in Dadri village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from New Delhi.
Akhlaq’s daughter Sajida already told that the family had mutton in the fridge and not beef.
The two main accused in the Dadri lynching case Shivam and Vishal, were arrested on Saturday, while two more accused were arrested on Thursday, raising the total number to ten.
