Dadri lynching: Akhlaq’s injured son names six more in statement, says mob comprised neighbours

Mohammad Danish, who had suffered severe injuries in the attack on the night of September 28 at Bisara village in Dadri area of Gautam Budh Nagar, recorded his statement before the police Saturday, his lawyer Yusuf Zaidi told The Indian Express.

A key eyewitness in the case, Danish has named around six more persons apart from the ones named by his family.

“Danish has named more people. His sister too has given additional names. We are corroborating their statements with other evidence. We will disclose the names once they are verified,” said Anurag Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Dadri.

Subscriber Only Stories

View All

Delhi Confidential: Meet, greet and part in Parliament

In Jamtara, old panchayat buildings turned into libraries and study circl...

Budget 2023: Choosing the right tax regime

February 3, 1983, Forty Years Ago: Rajiv Gandhi rises

Monthly plan to access Budget

However, Danish’s elder brother Mohammad Sartaj, a corporal with Indian Air Force, was more forthcoming with the names. “Danish has said that Sanjay Rana’s eldest son Vishal was first one to enter the room who instigated the mob to attack all of us. Majority of the people were from our neighbourhood and there was one Dr Arun, too, among them,” Sartaj told The Indian Express Monday.

Sartaj added that Danish, in his statement, has said that he was hit on the head with a stick after which he lost consciousness.

Sanjay Rana is a district BJP worker. Seven of the 10 youths named in the FIR into the mob attack belong Rana. That includes his son Vishal, who was arrested.
Asked who among Akhlaq and Danish was the primary target of the mob, Sartaj said, “They wanted to eliminate our entire family and had even sprinkled kerosene inside the house to set it on fire”.

Contacted, District Magistrate N P Singh said, “We are letting the police carry on with the investigation in the case. The information that we have received so far is that Akhlaq’s daughter Shaista and Danish have named around six more people.”

Shaista’s statement before the magistrate has already been recorded.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government issued a statement saying that Akhlaq’s family member met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday and did not press for CBI probe into the case. They are satisfied over action taken by the government, the statement read.

WITH ENS, LUCKNOW