Beefed-Up FIR Against Akhlaq’s Kin is Flavoured With Intimidation

FIR against Akhlaq’s kin will result in polarisation and marginalisation of the minorities, writes Suhit K Sen.

A UP court has thought it fit, in its infinite wisdom, to direct the police to register a first information report (FIR) against family members of Mohammed Akhlaq for slaughtering a cow. A sense is being subtly communicated that this is somehow linked to the cases filed against 18 people of Bisada village in UP’s Dadri for lynching Akhlaq, ostensibly because he was in the possession of a certain quantity of beef. After a day’s delay – presumably to study the order – the police have, in fact, registered an FIR.

The salient facts of the case have been made abundantly clear by the media. First, of course, the two cases bear no relation to one other. In other words, even if the accused are found guilty of cow slaughter it will have no bearing on the infinitely more serious charge of murder that the Hindutva-inspired vigilantes face.

Possession Not an Offence

Second, possession or consumption of beef is not an offence in UP – only the slaughter of cows is punishable. This is a tricky issue. The vigilantes after clubbing Akhlaq to death had apparently seized some meat from his refrigerator and dumped it in a garbage dump. Some of it was recovered by the police and sent to a local laboratory in Dadri, where Akhlaq and his family lived. The laboratory tests said the meat was from a goat, it was not beef. Later, a sample of the meat was sent to a lab in Mathura, which found it to be beef.

The problem with the second test is that the provenance of the sample that was used is not entirely, well, kosher. It is not clear who sent it or where it came from. The police have said that it was found by the roadside near Akhlaq’s home, but there is no ground to assume that it came from there. The results of the second test have been questioned, on account of their ambiguity, by experts. UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, too, has questioned the report.

Intimidatory Tactics

It is not entirely clear why there was such a rush to get an FIR filed, given the circumstances. But what is abundantly obvious is that the families of some of the accused and some Bisada residents, one of whom moved the application for the filing of the FIR, used intimidatory tactics, so beloved of the Hindu Right, to force the issue – this was in the form of a threat to convene a mahapanchayat of 144 villages if an FIR was not filed.

This kind of majoritarian intimidation has rapidly become an unfortunate part of the landscape of public life in India. What is puzzling, at first blush, is the motive. The man who filed the application, one Surajpal Singh, is on record as having said that the accused in Akhlaq’s murder had been framed and that he would have them released. All of it sounds somewhat unreally dense: as we have seen, the outcome of the cow slaughter case will have no bearing on the murder trial, presumably.

Vitiating the Atmosphere

Clearly, there is some other motive. And it is, in fact, not too difficult to figure out. The motive is simply the intimidation and harassment of the minorities in an attempt to vitiate the prevailing atmosphere and to estrange the two communities further. If that indeed is the case, the Bisada villagers concerned have probably tasted some success.

A Muslim resident of Bisada is quoted as having said, consequent to this new initiative, that Muslims now feel even more suffocated and intimidated to the extent that the villagers have decided not to celebrate Eid in September. Eid-ul-Zuha involves, as we know, animal sacrifice. The Muslim villagers are scared that the goat they would have sacrificed might by some alchemy turn into beef, as it did last year when Akhlaq was murdered.

Botched-Up Probe

• FIR against Akhlaq and family for cow slaughter is bewildering as possession of beef is an offence in UP.
  
• Forensic report from a lab in Mathura, shared by lawyers of the accused, said meat sample found outside Akhlaq’s house belonged to ‘cow or its progeny’.
  
• Police has not found any further evidence to corroborate such claims.
  
• Threat issued by Bisada residents and the accused regarding convening of a mahapanchayat explains the FIR against Akhlaq and family.
  
• FIR against Akhlaq and kin will result in further marginalisation of the minorities.
  

Pawns in a Larger Game?

There is a silver lining, albeit one with a dark cloud inside it. Akhlaq’s family can appeal the lower court order in the Allahabad High Court and hope for relief, which does not seem on the face of it a hopeless cause.

Finally, the worrying possibility for Akhlaq’s bereaved family members is that beyond the very palpable intimidation, they could just be pawns in a larger game. Akhlaq’s murder was committed in the run-up to the Assembly elections in four states, Bihar being the most relevant, as the BJP sought to deploy its favourite electoral tactic – polarisation and the consolidation of the majority community.

This time around the UP elections are approaching and electoral mobilisation has already gathered pace, even if actual campaigning remains some distance away. You could call it a conspiracy theory, but it is one that ticks an uncomfortably large number of boxes.

(The writer is a Kolkata-based freelance journalist.)

Also read:
Exclusive: Akhlaq’s Family Pressurised to Drop Dadri Lynching Case
Dadri Lynching Case: It’s Beef, But Not From Akhlaq’s Fridge