September beating death of Muslim man suspected of consuming beef results in 15 charged in Uttar Pradesh state.

Indian authorities have charged 15 people suspected of taking part in the mob killing of a Muslim man accused of eating beef.

Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was dragged out of his home in September and beaten to death by a crowd after rumours spread at a Hindu temple that a calf had been killed in Uttar Pradesh – one of many Indian states where slaughtering cattle and selling and consuming beef illegal.

“We have filed a charge sheet against 15 persons,” Daljeet Chaudhary, a senior police official, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.

Akhlaq’s son Danish was beaten so badly that his eye popped out of its socket and required multiple surgeries.

He said most of the attackers were known to the family.

“We were beaten that day for no fault of ours. If you stay in a village where you are beaten without any reason, can you go back? I don’t ever want to go back,” Danish Akhlaq told NDTV earlier this month.