JOIN USTwo main accused in Dadri lynching held
As politicians continued to make a beeline to meet the Dadri lynching victim’s family in Bisara amid opposition from the locals, two main accused in the case were nabbed by the police.
Sources in the police said the duo, Shivam and Vishal, was arrested late on Friday night. With this, the number of people arrested in the case rose to eight, while 12 people have been booked so far.
Sources also said that Vishal is local BJP leader Sanjay Rana’s son. Interestingly, six of the accused reportedly belong to one family.
The police said Vishal had assaulted the priest of a local temple for refusing to make an announcement on the loudspeaker that Mohammed Akhlaq, the victim, and his family were cooking beef.
In New Delhi, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha offered to move Akhlaq’s family to a safe location within the Air Force establishment.
Akhlaq’s son Sartaj is an engineer with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“We are trying to move the family into some safe IAF area. We are with him and our people are there to assist the family,” said Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.
IAF sources said Sartaj is currently posted in Chennai and efforts were on to either enable the rest of the family to move there or transfer him to an area where his family can also be shifted. Raha said he would also meet the victim’s family.
Rahul, Kejriwal visit
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Akhlaq’s family in Bisara village on Saturday.
Frequent visits by politicians, battery of media personnel and the alleged “one-sided” police action invited the ire of the locals as they came out in large numbers and damaged journalists’ vehicles.