Dadri Lynching: No beef in Akhlaq's fridge.Just mutton.What now?

According to a Times of India report, a forensic test has proven that the meat which led to the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri last week was not beef but mutton.

The mob had brutally killed Akhlaq and injured his son Danish last week following rumours that the Akhlaq family had eaten and stored beef in their refrigerator.

The latest development is sure to add fuel to the sensitive issue, which has seen political leaders clamoring to urge people to respect and maintain communal harmony.

On the night of September 28, police reportedly collected a sample of the meat from Akhlaq's house in Bisada, Uttar Pradesh, and sent it a veterinarian for preliminary testing. These tests suggested the meat was mutton, but the police later sent the sample to another lab in Mathura for a conclusive test. The second test confirmed that the meat was indeed mutton, a top government official said.

There was no mention of beef in the FIR the police filed either. All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AMIM) leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, while visiting Akhlaq's home last week, slammed the UP government, saying that instead of arresting the attackers, the police were focusing on the forensic test of the meat. Justifying their actions, the UP government claimed that if the meat had not been sent for testing, the opposition leaders would have alleged that they were hiding facts.