Dadri accused’s body cremated after family, govt strike a deal

One of the 18 accused in the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq on suspicion of consuming beef in Bisara last year, Sisodia’s body had been kept in a deep-freezer casket draped with the Tricolour since Wednesday night.

4 min readBisaraOct 8, 2016 08:22 AM IST First published on: Oct 8, 2016 at 02:36 AM IST

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Mahesh Sharma meets Dadri accused Ravin’s mother in Bisara. (Source: Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

THREE DAYS after 21-year-old Ravin Sisodia died in a Delhi hospital due to “multi-organ failure of kidney and lungs”, his family and residents of Dadri’s Bisara village cremated his body on Friday evening after arriving at a compromise with the local administration on their demands. One of the 18 accused in the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq on suspicion of consuming beef in Bisara last year, Sisodia’s body had been kept in a deep-freezer casket draped with the Tricolour since Wednesday night.

His family members and residents had blocked the cremation, demanding Rs 1 crore as compensation, a CBI probe into the death, a job for a family member, action against jail officials and an inquiry against Akhlaq’s brother Jaan Mohammad on charges of cow slaughter.

The talks regarding the cremation had stalled on Thursday evening on the issue of arresting Akhlaq’s brother. On Friday, as part of the agreement, it was decided that a 11-member committee of residents and MLAs from the area would monitor the police investigation into charges of cow slaughter against Mohammad based on a case registered in June.

According to N P Singh, District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, Sisodia’s family will be given a compensation of Rs 25 lakh. “The state government will give Rs 10 lakh. Another Rs 10 lakh will be given by social institutions while the area’s MP Mahesh Sharma and MLA Sangeet Som will give Rs 5 lakh. The state government has agreed to recommend a CBI inquiry in the case once a written request from the family is received.

“I have promised to look after the entire education of his one-year-old daughter. We will ensure that his wife receives education and employment, we can also provide her computer training,” Singh said. The compromise was reached on Friday afternoon, during a three-hour meeting in the village of Union Minister Sharma, Sardana BJP MLA Som, Dibai MLA Bhagwan Sharma, family members of Ravin and members of the residents’ committee along with senior district administration officials and police.

Following the meeting, Som addressed hundreds gathered on the main village road. “The administration has promised that an inquiry to look into the death of Ravi will take place and those responsible for his death, for negligence will be given strict punishment,” he said.

While a small section of the gathering expressed concerns about the terms of the agreement and opposed the decision to cremate Sisodia, Som said, “Please think about the condition of his mother and wife. They have been looking at his corpse for more than 24 hours and they have just been sent to the hospital. If something happens to that, you don’t want to be responsible for that. You do not want another death.”

Elaborating on the meeting, Sharma said, “The attitude of the (state) government has been disappointing. It cannot escape the responsibility of this death. If he was unwell, why was he not given medical treatment, why was he not given medical help on time? “If there was a scuffle and he was beaten up, there should be an inquiry. They have accepted the demand for a CBI inquiry.”