Dadri Lynching: Strangely, the Temple Priest is Not a Witness

Dadri Lynching: Priest who made the announcement of alleged beef consumption is not a witness in the chargesheet.

Akhlaq, who succumbed to mob lynching, and his son Danish. (Photo The Quint) 

In the infamous Dadri mob-lynching case, the Uttar Pradesh Police filed the first chargesheet on Wednesday against 15 people, including a minor. But strangely, the temple priest, who was earlier touted to be a ‘major link’ in the incident by the UP Police, has not been named as a witness in the chargesheet.

The priest’s announcement that Akhlaq’s family had allegedly consumed beef had reportedly triggered the attack by the mob. He is also one of the key persons who could have divulged the names of the conspirators and given the police a sense of the sequence of events. The priest has been missing from the village ever since the incident.

For us, there are only two most important witnesses, Akhlaq’s injured son Danish and his daughter. We didn’t feel the need to record the pujari’s statement as a witness.

<b>Anurag Singh, Circle Officer, Dadri </b>

By the UP Police’s own admission, the two main accused, Vishal Rana and Shivam, who spread the rumour in the first place, had forced the priest to make the announcement. The question thus arises why the police, despite this knowledge, did not consider the priest’s testimony important. Could his statement not be an important corroborative evidence to indict the culprits?

The police also claim that the reason why such a rumour was spread is not critical to the investigation.

Our investigation is limited to whatever is mentioned in the FIR and the statement given by Danish and his sister. We cannot rely on the accused’s statement; they can name anyone as conspirators.

<b>Anurag Singh</b>

Danish, who is the key eyewitness in the case, had given his statement to the UP police but that is not admissible in court. According to the Superintendent of Police of Gautam Budhnagar, Sanjay Singh, it is essential that Danish’s statement be recorded under oath. His sister’s statement was, however, recorded before a Magistrate.

So far the UP Police have arrested 17 accused in the case, including a juvenile and a home guard; 15 accused have been chargesheeted. The final report on whether the meat found at Akhlaq’s home was indeed beef is still pending.

Also read:

The Dadri Truth: A Personal Grudge Twisted Into a Communal Killing
Dadri Killing: Why the Reluctance in Handing the Case Over to CBI?