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Lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq

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The lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq took place on the night of 28 September 2015 in Bisada village, in the Dadri area of Uttar Pradesh, when a mob dragged the 52-year-old man from his home and beat him to death after a local announcement that a cow had been slaughtered.[1][2] His son Danish was seriously injured.[3] The trial of the accused began in a fast-track court in 2021, and in December 2025 the court rejected an application by the state government to withdraw the prosecution.[2][4]

Background

Mohammad Akhlaq was a 52-year-old ironsmith who lived with his family in Bisada (also spelled Bisahda or Bishahra), a village near Dadri in Gautam Buddh Nagar district.[1] According to reports, loudspeaker announcements had alleged that he had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator, and police later found that the trigger was an announcement by a temple priest that a “cow had been slaughtered”.[5] The family denied that it had stored or eaten beef.[2]

Incident

On the night of 28 September 2015, following an announcement from a neighbourhood temple, a mob gathered at Akhlaq's house on suspicion that the family had stored and eaten beef.[3] The Quint reported that a group of 15 to 20 people attacked him and that his body was left on the road near his home.[2] He was declared dead at a private hospital in Noida.[5] The post-mortem report recorded 18 wounds, mostly to the head, and gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage due to ante-mortem injuries.[1]

Akhlaq's younger son Danish, then aged 22, was seriously injured while trying to protect his father.[3] He was later referred to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi for treatment.[5] Both father and son had been assaulted until they lost consciousness, according to the Tribune's account of the case.[5]

The first information report was registered at Jarcha police station on the complaint of Akhlaq's wife, under Indian Penal Code sections including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 147–149 (rioting and unlawful assembly).[5] Police filed a chargesheet on 22 December 2015.[2] Reported numbers of accused vary: The Quint reported in 2017 that 20 people, two of them minors, had been arrested, while later reports put the number of accused at 18, including three who were juveniles at the time.[6][3][4] One accused died in custody in October 2016; officials attributed the death to illness, while other accused alleged torture.[1][2]

Meat taken from the house became the subject of conflicting reports. A preliminary report from a local veterinary laboratory described it as mutton, while a report from a forensic laboratory in Mathura, dated 31 May 2016, said it was beef. The family rejected the Mathura report, and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav questioned its authenticity in June 2016.[2] On 14 July 2016 a Surajpur court directed police to register a case against members of Akhlaq's family under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. The family denied the charge, and that case remained pending in 2025.[2][1]

By September 2017 all those arrested had been released on bail and charges had not yet been framed, although the case had been transferred to a fast-track court.[6] Charges were framed on 25 February 2021, when the court rejected the defence's discharge applications, and the trial began on 26 March 2021 before an additional district judge. The juvenile accused were to be tried separately by the Juvenile Justice Board.[3] Akhlaq's daughter Shaista testified on 14 June 2022 and identified the accused.[2]

In October 2025 the Uttar Pradesh government applied to the Surajpur court to withdraw the prosecution against all the accused; its counsel argued that withdrawal would restore social harmony.[5][4] On 23 December 2025 the fast-track court rejected the application as neither legally sustainable nor in the interest of justice, ordered day-to-day hearings and directed police to protect any witness who sought security. At the time 14 accused were on bail.[4][2] Akhlaq's wife had also petitioned the Allahabad High Court against the state's application.[4]

Reactions

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced compensation of ₹45 lakh for the family in October 2015. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called the killing unfortunate and urged that it not be given a communal colour, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it in October 2015 as extremely sad.[2] Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Sangeet Som visited the village and said that “innocents are being framed”, and Union minister Mahesh Sharma attended the funeral of the accused who died in custody in 2016.[2]

Aftermath

Akhlaq's wife and children left Bisada and moved to Indian Air Force accommodation at Subroto Park in Delhi, and his brother also left the village; The Quint reported in 2017 that several Muslim families had migrated from Bisada and that the family said it feared for its safety while the accused were on bail.[6] Al Jazeera reported in 2017 that the family had received ₹45 lakh in compensation and three flats at subsidised rent, which it said it did not live in because of their remote location.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Abhimanyu Kumar. "The lynching that changed India". Al Jazeera. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Aliza Noor; Aroop Mishra. "The Dadri Files: 10 Years of Grief and Impunity Since Akhlaq's Lynching". The Quint. 25 December 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "5 Years After Akhlaq’s Lynching, Fast-Track Court Begins Trial". The Quint. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Dadri Lynching Case: Court Rejects Govt's Plea To Withdraw Case Against Accused". ETV Bharat. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "UP moves to withdraw case against all accused in 2015 Akhlaq lynching". The Tribune. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Poonam Agarwal. "2 Years After Dadri Lynching, All 20 Accused Out on Bail". The Quint. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
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