CPI(M) condemns UP govt's move to withdraw charges against Akhlaq's lynching accused

New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby on Saturday condemned the move by the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Greater Noida's Dadri, a case that had sparked nationwide outrage.

Baby took to X and called it a "double engine of murderers!"

"A decade after the horrific mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, the Uttar Pradesh government is now reportedly seeking to withdraw charges against all the accused, including the son of BJP leader Sanjay Rana," Baby said.

"Strongly condemn this move, which is tantamount to giving state approval for hate crimes and murder. The UP government should immediately desist from attempts to exonerate these dangerous criminals," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has moved to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 mob lynching, Additional District Government Counsel Bhag Singh Bhati told PTI on Saturday.

Akhlaq (52), a resident of the Bisada village in Greater Noida, was dragged out of his home and beaten to death by a mob on September 28, 2015, after announcements over a loudspeaker allegedly claimed he had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator. His son, Danish, sustained serious injuries while trying to save him.

Akhlaq's wife Ikraman lodged an FIR the same night at the Jarcha police station, naming 10 people and accusing four to five unidentified men as well. The case is currently pending before the district court in Surajpur, Greater Noida, a decade after the incident.