A day after Union home Minister Rajnath Singh said that Dadri lynching had no communal or beef angle while citing a report submitted by Uttar Pradesh government, dna managed to access confessional statements of some of the accused of the case in which they clearly mention that cow slaughter was indeed the prime motive.
According to documents accessed by dna, two of the accused, Shivam and Vishal Rana, in their statement to investigators said that they "got emotional after some persons informed them that a Muslim had slaughtered a cow."
"Some people informed us that (Mohamad) Akhlaq, a Muslim, had slaughtered a cow which is considered as mother in Hindu religion. Our feelings were provoked and after that we entered deceased Akhlaq's home and injured Danish by beating him. We beat up deceased Akhlaq and dragged him towards the transformer and left him there," the documents read quoting both Vishal and Shivam Rana.
On Tuesday, while responding in the Lok Sabha to the debate on intolerance, home minister Rajnath Singh said that as per the reports filed by the Uttar Pradesh government, the Dadri lynching case had no communal angle.
"The word beef was not even mentioned and even pre-meditation was difficult to establish," said Rajnath. The confessional statement by the accused was recorded in a police remand report, dated October 14 and submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Surajpur court.
The confession was produced by UP police while requesting custody of Shivam and Vishal Rana. Vishal, who is being seen as the prime accused in the case, is the son of a local BJP leader Sanjay Rana. He is also accused of announcing, from a temple in Dadri's Bisara village on the night of September 28 that Mohamad Akhlaq had slaughtered a calf and stored the beef at his home. Akhlaq was beaten to death while his younger son Danish was left grievously injured and is now recuperating in Delhi.
"I know the people who provoked us to take the step. I don't know them by their name but I can recognise their faces and can identify them if police takes us to them" the document reads further. A senior police officer when asked why haven't there been further arrests in the case said, "The accused had identified some people but we cannot arrest them arbitrarily. The accused have tendency to mislead the police but it is our job to refine the evidence gathering process".
"If the deceased's daughter identifies more people we will certainly take action according to the law," the officer told dna.
The FIR had named eight other people, including a juvenile, all of whom were arrested by the police. Five other people were also mentioned in the FIR as unknown suspects. Sources in the police said that Shaista Saifi, daughter the deceased, recorded her statement in front of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and identified six more accused persons responsible for the killing of her father.
Lawyer's take
dna contacted Yusuf Saifi, the lawyer for Mohamad Akhlaq's family to know the status of the other accused persons. "I cannot delve into the details of the case as it is still in the court. However it is a known fact that the FIR mentions other persons accused of attacking my clients. I will not rest until justice is delivered. Every single person guilty of the crime will face the law.
Beef call
The confession was produced by UP police while requesting custody of Shivam and Vishal Rana. Vishal, who is being seen as the prime accused in the case, is the son of a local BJP leader Sanjay Rana. He is also accused of announcing, from a temple in Dadri's Bisara village on the night of September 28 that Akhlaq had slaughtered a calf and stored the beef at his home. Akhlaq was beaten to death while his younger son Danish was left grievously injured and is now recuperating in Delhi.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Dadri-protests")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}