Dadri, Uttar Pradesh:
Controversial BJP lawmaker Sangeet Som today addressed a gathering of hundreds in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, which is tense after a man was lynched on Monday allegedly over rumours that he had stored and eaten beef. Prohibitory orders forbid the assembly of more than four people in one place in the village.
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Surrounded by supporters, Mr Som walked up to a temple in the village from where a call for action against cow slaughter was allegedly made on Monday, minutes before a murderous mob attacked 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq.
Nine men, one of them the son of a local BJP leader, have been arrested in Mr Akhlaq's murder case. Mr Som met their families and vowed to get bail for the accused.
Sangeet Som has been charged with making inflammatory speeches ahead of the deadly 2013 riots in UP's Muzaffanagar that killed more than 60 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. He is out on bail.
"We have been saying repeatedly that cow slaughter is happening all over UP. This is leading to riots," he said today and accused the state's Samajwadi Party government for conducting a "one-sided investigation".
Asked if he would visit the victim's family, the BJP lawmaker said, "The family isn't here. The government of Uttar Pradesh taken them away in an airplane. The way they did with the conspirators of the Muzaffarnagar riots... they have now done the same with the cow killers."
In Delhi, Mr Som's party leader and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said, "It was an unfortunate incident. But it is not proper to give communal colour to it".
Mohammad Akhlaq's family was flown to Lucknow to meet Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who has promised them Rs 30 lakh in compensation.
Since Sangeet Som is a riot accused, the UP Police said they have video-taped his visit and speech today. If he is found to have made any controversial statements, the police said, a case will be registered against him.
On Monday, Mr Akhlaq and his 22-year-old son Mohd Danish Saifee were dragged out of their house by around 100 villagers and beaten with bricks. His son is critical. Mr Akhlaq's other son is a member of the Indian Air Force.
Half an hour before the attack, an announcement was allegedly made at a temple nearby that a calf had been slaughtered. A Home Guards constable who came up with the idea of making the announcement, has been detained for questioning.
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