Dadri, Uttar Pradesh: Just 60 km away from the noisy and crowded national capital of Delhi lies the village of Bisada, where an unkempt and abandoned house has not seen a trace of light or laughter in 10 years. This is the house where, a decade ago, Mohammad Akhlaq lived with his family – before the rumour of cow slaughter led to his killing and left his son badly injured. He had already been beaten to death when an announcement was made from the neighbouring temple about the presence of beef in his refrigerator.

Akhlaq’s killing was one of the first reported instances of mob lynching in India, and it acted as a precursor for numerous such cases that have unfolded since 2015. Since Akhlaq's killing, phrases like 'cow vigilantism' and 'mob lynching' were made common to the social, political and legal lexicon of the country as such crimes against minorities grew rampant.

Recently, the Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has moved an application in the lower court under section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to withdraw all the charges, including murder, against the 10 accused in the case. 

Crucially, the application has also received a written approval from the governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Fear among Muslims

“Sarkar inki hi hai. Upar se neeche tak. Hum log kuch nahi kar sakte hain. (The government belongs to them. From top to bottom. We don't have anything in our control),” says Mohammad Shams*, an acquaintance of the victim, in a hushed tone when we asked what he thinks of the UP government’s move to drop the charges.

There is a palpable anxiety under his calm disposition as he offers us a glass of water. 

Also read: With Its Distrust, Alienation and Fear, Akhlaq's Village Provides Glimpse of ‘Hindu Rashtra’

Upon asking if he is willing to speak on camera he says, “Madam darr ka mahaul hai. Koi kuch nahi bolega. Vo bechare to majboori mein chale gaye par hume yahi rehna hai (Madam, there is an atmosphere of fear. No one will speak anything. They have to leave because of the prevailing circumstances but we have to live here only).” 

A young boy, Rehan*, who refuses to speak on camera, also says that everyone is afraid to speak. “Sab log dare huye hain. Koi nahi soch sakta tha ke aisa kuch ho jaega (Everyone is afraid to speak. Who would have thought something like this could happen),” he says, rushing to leave, as if escaping any further questioning as it would land him in trouble.

Anger towards victim, empathy towards the accused

Bisahda is a Thakur-majority village with approximately 64% Hindu and 35% Muslim population. Caste pride is visibly etched on nameplates at the gates and tattooed on the backs of vehicles. In the narrow alleys, older men can often be seen sitting in the sun, playing cards. 

A conversation with them reveals a deeper chasm between the communities masked behind bhaichara. “Ye log humse Ram-Ram karte hain. Hum log ek doosre ki shaadiyon mein jaate hain. Kuch logon ke ghalati kardi thi lekin ab hume aage badhna chahiye aur bhaichare ka mahaul banana chahiye (These people always bow down and greet us with Ram-Ram. We often visit each other during marriages. Some people made a mistake but we should move on and maintain our amicable relationship),” says 68-year-old Rishipal Singh. 

When asked about the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to drop charges against the accused, Rishipal says it was the right step to ensure communal peace. And when questioned whether this would be an injustice to the victim’s family, he responds, “He paid for what he did. Haven’t you seen the forensic report? It clearly showed that beef was found in his refrigerator.”

The police officer investigating the case had confirmed that no sample of any meat was ever taken from Akhlaq's house. The sample sent for testing was picked up from a spot about 100 metres away from his house, where the lynch mob had gathered.

A preliminary finding of a local veterinary was also that the meat recovered from the scene was mutton – goat's meat, not that of a cow. It is a forensic lab in Mathura, where the sample was later sent, that called it beef. Akhlaq's family has always denied having cow meat in their house.

Even so, Rishipal Singh isn't the only person in Bishada who backs the accused. Many people in the village fear that the court will deny the UP government's appeal to drop charges against the accused. 

“They were given lavish flats by the SP (Samajwadi Party) government. Money was rained on them by Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Asaduddin Owaisi. It is our children who lost government jobs,” says Bhupender Singh, sitting inside the courtyard of the village sarpanch.

An unresolved fracture

Attempts to gather more information in the village and trace the whereabouts of the accused were met with hostility. “Where were you all when our children suffered? You’re here to make money. Nobody cared about our children,” a man shouts, hurling abuses at us as the situation quickly escalated.

A decade after Mohammad Akhlaq’s lynching, a first glance suggests an atmosphere of normalcy and calm, but a closer look reveals an unresolved fracture.

Fear continues to silence the Muslim residents, while majoritarian sentiment shapes sympathy towards the accused rather than the victim and his family, who now live in exile, far from their ancestral home – a home that is gradually falling apart, resembling the slow unravelling of democracy in our country.

*Names have been changed to protect identity.

(This report was updated with more factual detail at 8:58 pm on November 25, 2025.)

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