It’s beef, but not: How the mysterious new Dadri forensic report is creating a false narrative

While the media reported that the 'meat' was beef, many reports don't mention that the meat was not from Akhlaq's fridge

news

On Tuesday, the horrors of the Dadri beef-lynching incident returned to dominate media discourse after a purported forensic report was released to the media by the defense lawyer in the case stating that the meat sample recovered from outside the 50-year-old’s house belonged to a “cow or its progeny”.

The finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an enquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary department which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on September 28 last in Dadri was mutton of 'goat progeny'.

What was recovered from the house of the lynching victim in Dadri was that of beef, a senior prosecution officer in the case said on Tuesday, quoting the report by the Forensic laboratory of the Uttar Pradesh University of Veterinary Services (Animal Husbandry).

It was stated that on the basis of chemical analysis the forensic investigation of the sample showed that it belonged to "cow or its progeny".

Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was beaten to death on September 28 in Bisahra village in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri district by a mob infuriated by rumours that he and his family had stored and consumed beef.

The police said that they tested the meat only to establish the motive for Akhlaq's killing. Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is.

Some media reports also say that it was the meat in the fridge which was beef. However, that is false.

The latest report created an uproar on social media, with reactions ranging from calling the report a false one and motivated by the upcoming UP elections, to calling the media out for not investigating the case properly.

#DadriReport No introspection by Shameless media which turned a case of cattle stealing for cowmeat, into a case of BJP attack on minorities — ShanoVaruna (@SMedia4) June 1, 2016

Dear All can we stop talking about #DadriReport in 140 words and on shouting media & morchas ? Too imp and complicated for that — Ria (@banerji1) June 1, 2016

#DadriReport now will the awardwapsi gang ask for their awards back? — ParthapratimChoudhur (@pchaudhury) June 1, 2016

If a passenger is fatally pushed out of a running train by a TTE, would you care to probe later if he was indeed ticket-less? #DadriReport — Shiv Sunny (@shivsunny) May 31, 2016

Just the same Rubbish again & again stop treating people as Hindu , Muslim etc ... Wrong is wrong no matter who does it #DadriReport — Ria (@banerji1) June 1, 2016

This shows how easy it is to change such reports in India for political gains... #DadriReport — Saurabh Dubey (@saurabh08ec) June 1, 2016

It turns out that the meat tested by the lab was indeed beef, but there is a catch. The report states that the beef sample was not from Akhlaq’s fridge, but from the streets.

The Times of India reported:

A senior UP police officer confirmed to TOI that the sample in question was indeed beef, but said this in no way proved Akhlaq had either stored or had beef as this was not a meat sample collected from his house. This was collected from the trijunction near his house in Dadri's Bisada village. He also pointed out that the meat sample had little bearing on the case.

While a large section of the media reported that the lab test of the 'meat' showed that it was beef, most reports do not mention that the meat was not from his fridge, but from outside his home.

If indeed there was a conspiracy to kill Akhlaq by creating a false controversy that he had beef in his house, the beef outside his house could have possibly been planted to trigger the rage against Akhlaq

The TOI report also adds that the criminal lawyer who made the report public to certain media outlets, wished to remain anonymous and also refused to reveal the source of the report. "The document has been accessed from court," the newspaper quotes him as saying.

Even if the meat was beef and was seized from his house, the fact remains that a man was murdered, and nothing justifies that.

A court in Gautam Budh Nagar is hearing the case and the next hearing is scheduled for June 6.

PTI inputs