GREATER NOIDA: Even as the rest of Akhlaq 's family left for Lucknow to meet chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday, the victim's brother, Jameel Ahmed who lives next door and fears he too would have been killed if he were home that day, said no innocent man should be implicated in the murder case.

Recalling the fateful Monday night, Ahmed, 60, said, "I was in Loni, Ghaziabad that night. I got a call from Akhlaq's daughter, my niece. She told me how a 200-strong mob dragged him out of the house even as he was preparing to go to bed. He was not even fully clothed when they brutally killed him. The family had heard an announcement made from the temple loudspeaker, but since it is 300 metres far, they could not realize it was about them."

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"If I were home that day, I would not be alive too. When I heard about Akhlaq's death and my nephew's serious injuries, I rushed to Noida's Kailash Hospital. I was shattered when I reached there and learnt that there was nothing they could have done to save my brother. His death, the doctors said, was instant," Ahmed said.

He added, however, that he wants justice for his brother but not "retribution".

"Akhlaq was very dear to me. Since he was ten years younger than I am, I was always protective of him. What happened has left me shattered. They should bring the perpetrators to justice, so that nobody ever does something like this again. However, I do not want any innocent man to be punished in the name of my brother. The residents of Bisada village are mostly nice people and I do not want someone to pay for a crime they did not commit," he said.

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Ahmed is grateful to god that his nephew is recovering.

"The doctors say Danish is doing better. I hope he gets well soon. I lost a brother, I do not want to lose a nephew," he said.