Dadri lynching, three years: Their village home locked, justice still eludes Akhlaq’s family

Three rusted locks hang on three doors in the house where Mohammad Akhlaq and his family lived in Dadri’s Bisara village, the only Muslim home in a locality of Rajputs. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

Three years after 50-year-old Akhlaq was dragged out of his house and lynched on suspicion of possessing beef, his family says they can never return. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

Earlier in September 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq, a man in his 50s, was lynched inside his house at Bisara village falling under Dadri sub division of Gautam Buddh Nagar district. His son Danish was also brutally beaten up by a mob which had barged into their house late in the night on the suspicion that beef had been stored and consumed there. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

The family has not been able to rebuild their lives as the case against the 18 accused of killing Akhlaq drags on in a fast-track court. With 45 court hearings since the case was registered, the trial is yet to begin as the city court is still hearing arguments on charges against the accused. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

Sartaj (29), Shaista (23), their brother Danish (25) who was also assaulted and injured by the mob which killed his father, their mother Ikraman (43) and grandmother Asgari (78) live in the Air Force quarters in Delhi’s Subroto Park, where they moved after the incident as they felt that being eyewitnesses made Shaista, Danish and Ikraman vulnerable. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

While most villagers refer to the September 28, 2015 incident as an “accident,” they also acknowledge the manner in which it shook the nation. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

Meanwhile, the 17 accused who were released on bail in 2017 live in Bisara where the common refrain is “Yahaan maahaul ab badhiya hai (The atmosphere here is splendid)”. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

The family is also dealing with the cow-slaughter case which was registered against them in 2016. In August that year, the Allahabad High Court stayed the arrest of all the family members except Akhlaq's younger brother Mohammad Jaan. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin

Yusuf Saifi, the counsel for Akhlaq's family, has his hopes pinned on the recent Supreme Court verdict on the lynching and mob violence. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

READ | Dadri lynching: No question of returning home, just hope case moves quickly, says Akhlaq’s kin