Meat in lynched Muslim man's fridge was mutton not beef, forensic test reveals

A forensic test has proven that the meat that the Dadri lynch mob found in a Muslim man’s fridge last week was mutton not beef.

Muhammad Akhlaq was beaten to death last week over rumours that he butchered a cow and there was beef in his fridge. Akhlaq himself was beaten to death while his 22-year-old son was severely wounded.

Read: Mob rule: Muslim man lynched for ‘eating beef’ in India

On September 28, police had collected samples of the meat from Akhlaq’s house and sent it to a vet for preliminary testing. The test result found that the meat was mutton, according to the Times of India.

Following the preliminary testing, police sent the sample to a lab in Mathura for a conclusive test. That test also found that it was mutton, not beef, a top government official informed. Akhlaq's family had insisted all along that there was no beef in the house.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, while visiting Akhlaq's home last week criticised the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government for focusing on the forensic test instead of arresting the attackers.

Read: Kashmiri parliamentarian: Muslim MP assaulted by BJP for serving meat

However, a senior official in the government defended the action, saying, “Had we not sent the meat for a test, the opposition would have alleged that the UP government was hiding facts. Even though there is no mention of beef in the FIR, we had sent the meat for a test to clear the air.”

According to The Times of India, a brown calf had gone missing in the village a day before Eid. On the night of September 28, a child had seen Akhlaq walk out of his house with a plastic bag with something that looked like meat in it. Akhlaq had reportedly thrown this bag in front of an electric transformer near his house.

Read: 'My son was called Pakistani days before my husband was lynched'

The boy had then informed a few people about this. Four youths, one of them the son of a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, gathered inside a temple and concluded that the meat in the bag must be that of the missing calf. They made the announcement over the loudspeaker which led to Akhlaq’s brutal death.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for religious harmony on Thursday, breaking a week-long silence after the mob killing of Akhlaq.

This article originally appeared on The Times of India