A court in Surajpur rejected the Uttar Pradesh government's plea seeking withdrawal of charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri and directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis.
The Uttar Pradesh government has moved to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Greater Noida's Dadri, a case that had sparked nationwide outrage.
'The prime minister has merely paid lip service condemning these crimes instead of launching a massive crackdown against such brutalities,' argues Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
'Subodh Singh had a key role as the investigating officer in the Akhlaq murder case.' 'He was the first key witness from the government side in the case.'
'One can understand this prejudice in the minds of policemen against Muslims, without accepting it. But what tilts the balance disproportionately is the police's blind eye to offences committed in the name of the majority.' says Jyoti Punwani.
Muslims constitute 20% of UP's electorate. Currently, Muslim voters are divided between Akhilesh's SP and Mayawati's BSP. What will tilt the balance? Can Muslims back the winning party? Mohammad Sajjad explains the mysteries of UP's Muslim politics.