Looking for Akhlaq in Bisada: Deserted house, tight-lipped neighbours, accused in jobs

While 19 people in all were chargesheeted, one of them, Ravi Sisodiya, died in judicial custody.

About 500 metres from the entrance of Bisada lies Akhlaq’s deserted house, a corroded lock hanging on its cobalt blue iron gate, the paint peeling off the brick walls. A week after the incident, the family left Bisada, and now different members live in undisclosed locations for “security reasons”.

While one of Akhlaq’s sons is in government service, his daughter and one of the witnesses is married, says the family’s lawyer Yusuf Saifi. Danish, Akhlaq’s son, who was severely injured in the September 2015 incident and spent a long time in hospital, is also married now.

Saifi, who speaks on behalf of the family, which doesn’t want to talk to the media, says the government’s proposal to withdraw the case against the accused at this stage, when the evidence is being submitted, is surprising. “The statement of the daughter was being recorded before the court… Danish is yet to record his statement,” he adds. Of the other two witnesses, Akhlaq’s mother has died while his wife, on whose complaint the FIR was registered, is old and ailing.

The house in Gautam Buddh Nagar district’s Bisada village where Mohammed Akhlaq and his family lived. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

Akhlaq was killed on September 28, 2015, by a mob that gathered after an announcement from the village temple alleging that he had slaughtered a cow. His son Danish suffered injuries while trying to stop the mob. Of the 19 chargesheeted by the Gautam Buddha Nagar Police, Vishal Rana, the son of a local BJP leader, and his cousin Shivam were named as the main conspirators. and booked for murder, attempt to murder, rioting, and assault.

They were released on bail in March 2017.

The Ranas live in a house that is under renovation, not far from where Akhlaq and his family stayed. Sanjay says Vishal, 29, runs a canteen in Greater Noida. Vikas was a student of B Pharma at a Greater Noida college when the incident happened, and didn’t finish his graduation.

Sanjay says a family friend got him a job as manager at a factory. “Recently, Vikas opened a canteen at the factory site.”

Another neighbour is Gaurav Sisodiya, an accused in the Akhlaq case along with his younger brother Saurav and father Om Veer, 63. Gaurav is married with two children now, while Saurav works at a private firm. Before he can speak more, Gaurav is cut off by his mother, who pulls him inside.

Om Veer, who lives in a house adjacent to Gaurav’s, alleges his sons were “framed”.

Another accused, Dr Arun Sisodiya, told The Indian Express he ran a veterinary practice at Bisada. Two other accused, Vivek and his younger brother Sachin, work as electricians, taking up “repair jobs in Dadri and around”.

The family of Ravi Sisodiya, who died in judicial custody in October 2016 of kidney and respiratory failure, shifted to a place near the village, says his cousin Umesh Kumar. “After his death, his wife left, leaving behind their daughter. Ravi’s brother takes care of the family now,” Umesh says.

Another accused, Puneet Pandit, who was not originally named in the FIR but arrested later, has also shifted to another house. His father is a priest at the local temple. “Puneet was studying back then, but now is a farmer,” says his younger brother.

A villager in Bisada says the UP government’s recommendation to drop the charges now is “justice for the accused”. “When we were suffering, no one ever came to see us, no leader, no government. But now when things are in our favour, everyone has a problem,” he says, cutting off any more questions.