Major Twist To Dadri Lynching: A New Lab Report Says It Was Beef

New Delhi: In September last year, Mohammad Akhlaq was killed by a mob in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumours that he had stored beef.

The police then quoted a local lab as saying that the meat found in Akhlaq's freezer was mutton.

In a major twist in the case eight months on, a forensic report has confirmed that the meat was that of "a cow or its progeny".

"Initially we did say mutton but subsequently we were told by the lab that it was beef," Uttar Pradesh police chief Javed Ahmed told NDTV.

The meat from Akhlaq's home was initially tested at a lab in Dadri. The samples were sent for a final assessment to a government lab in Mathura, which has said concluded that it is beef.

The new report has been rejected by Akhlaq's family, which has denied eating or storing beef on the day of the attack.

"Dadri police said mutton, now you are saying it is beef. This is all politics," said Akhlaq's brother Chand Mohammad.

On September 28, 50-year-old Akhlaq was dragged out of his home by a mob of almost 100 and beaten with bricks until he collapsed and died. His son Mohammad Danish was also brutally beaten up.

A local BJP leader was among 10 arrested for murder. The state's ruling Samajwadi Party accused the BJP of trying to stir trouble by spreading false rumours about beef-eating.

Uttar Pradesh bans the slaughter of cows but not beef, so the forensic report makes no difference to the case. The police chief said the new report does not "diminish the case" as murder is an offence.

The revelation may revive politics over the mob killing ahead of high voltage elections in Uttar Pradesh next year.

Last year, the Dadri incident and other attacks linked to beef were held up by opposition parties and activists as examples of rising intolerance and bullying by groups linked to the BJP.