The Uttar Pradesh government in India has asked a Surajpur court to withdraw the case against all men accused in the 2015 Dadri lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, a mob killing that erupted after rumours in an Indian village claimed he and his family had stored and consumed beef.
The move has brought the 2015 Dadri lynching back into national conversation, nearly a decade after the incident shocked not only India but the whole world.
According to Indian media outlets, the state of Uttar Pradesh has submitted an application seeking permission to drop the prosecution. The court will review the request on 12 December. The timing feels significant, as the 2015 Dadri lynching has long been seen as one of the most defining cases linked to mob violence and communal tension.
Akhlaq’s family, however, says they have not yet received any official documents. Their lawyer has only heard about the government’s move informally and plans to examine the paperwork once it is made available.
The family continues to wait for justice in the 2015 Dadri lynching, which had also left Akhlaq’s son Danish critically injured.
The case began in 2015 when a mob attacked Akhlaq at his home in Bisada village after rumours spread that he had stored beef in his refrigerator. The violence sparked national outrage, drew reactions from political leaders, and triggered debates on rising hate crimes.
The 2015 Dadri lynching remained in headlines for months and became a symbol of mob vigilantism.
Over the years, the case slowed down in court. Many accused were granted bail, and a separate case alleging cow slaughter was also filed against Akhlaq’s family.
With the Uttar Pradesh government now seeking to withdraw the prosecution, the 2015 Dadri lynching has reached a crucial turning point. The Surajpur court will decide whether the long-running trial will continue or come to an end.
Probe Reports & Past Political Reactions of 2015 Dadri Lynching
Earlier, a commission founded to investigate the 2015 Dadri lynching said that it was “disturbing” that “responsible persons” converge at such spots after the incident and “make irresponsible statements” further vitiating the atmosphere.
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma had described the lynching of the 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq by a mob following rumours that he and his family stored and consumed beef as an “accident”.
In the days following the incident, many politicians, including BJP MLA Sangeet Som and BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui, landed in Dadri and made inflammatory and provocative speeches.
“A crowd of large numbers appearing within minutes of the announcement from the temple’s loudspeaker and at a time when most villagers claimed they were asleep seems to point to some premeditated planning,” said the report authored by NCM chairman Naseem Ahmad and members Farida Abdullah Khan and Tsering Namgyal Shanoo.
Without naming Sharma, the report said, “It would be quite an understatement to say that Bisahda’s killing was merely an accident, as has been claimed even by some persons in authority.
The facts reported to NCM team point strongly that the whole episode was the result of a plan, in which a sacred place like a temple was used for exhorting people of one community to attack a hapless family.”
“Moral policing with impunity is being resorted to at many places. The malaise is spreading fast, especially in Western Uttar Pradesh. What is more disturbing is that responsible persons converge at the place of any such incident and make irresponsible statements, which further vitiate the relations between the communities. This has to be stopped at all costs, otherwise things will go out of hand,” the six-page report said.
The inquiry commission sought curbs on the dissemination of hate messages on social media, saying, “Social media are being extensively used to flare up communal passions (and) some form of vigilance and curb on such hateful attempts is the need of the hour.”