Dadri: Tension persists in Bisada

Tension gripped Dadri’s Bisada village on Thursday after one of the accused in the Mohammad Akhlaq lynching case died in police custody.

The kin of the deceased, Ravi, refused to cremate the body, demanding the arrest of Akhlaq’s brother Jan Mohammad and the jailor.

According to police sources, the situation at Bisada village was tense. The district officials, however, were trying to persuade the family to go ahead with the cremation.

“We have already ordered a magisterial probe. We can also consider recommending a CBI probe if the family members wish so,” said a senior police official.

The official said that the police were keeping a close watch on the situation. “We are monitoring the situation...additional forces have been rushed to the village,” he said, adding that Ravi had died of natural causes. However, the kin claimed that the youth had been assaulted by the jailor.

The state government on Thursday announced an ex -gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s next of kin.

Ravi’s body has been kept in a freezer outside a temple in the village, with a large number of people, including women and children, sitting around it. “We are concerned about the safety of the 14 other accused who are lodged in jail...anything can happen to them,” said a villager.