Bisada simmers as kin refuse to cremate body of Ikhlaq lynching case accused

Tension gripped Dadri's Bisada village on Thursday as residents refused to cremate the body of Ravin Sisodia, one of the accused in the Ikhlaq lynching case who died in police custody. 

Residents of Bisada wrapped Ravin in a national flag around to accord him the status of a martyr amid heightened tension in the village over his death. 

Amid mounting pressure, the district administration has shifted the jailer and has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased's family.

Ravin’s family is demanding a Rs 1-crore compensation, a government job for his wife, an FIR against the jail authorities and the arrest of Ikhlaq’s brother Jaan Muhammad for cow slaughter. Ravin was unemployed and married a year before he was jailed. Apart from his wife, he is survived by a 9-month-old daughter.

The village is simmering. Hearing of his death, a number of residents gathered outside Ravin’s house. They outrightly rejected Ravin’s death report, claiming that he was murdered.

Villagers also burnt the effigies of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and accused the police of carrying out biased probe into the case. They have also accused the police of foul play in Ravin’s death. 

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suresh Rana and other right-wing leaders visited the village late Wednesday evening after Ravin’s body arrived. 

As the village continued to simmer, heavy police force has been deployed and imposed prohibitory orders have been imposed in the area.

Protests in Dadri have been on from October 1 when women, whose relatives have been arrested in connection with the Ikhlaq lynching case, demanded that his Jaan Mohammad be arrested for allegedly slaughtering a cow.

Local priest Sadhvi Har Siddhi Giri said that women of the village would go to the jail to inquire about the health of the other accused, adding that the protests would continue till Jaan Mohammad was arrested.

“We have deployed a company of provincial armed constabulary (PAC), 200 constables, 30 sub-inspectors, 15 station house officers and five circle officers at Bisada as precautionary measures.

“The situation is under control. The villagers are cooperating. The police teams are on a standby mode. We have forwarded the demands of the deceased’s family to the government,” said a senior police official on Thursday.

On September 28 last year, Ikhlaq, suspected to have slaughtered a cow and consumed beef, was dragged out of his house and killed by an angry mob in Dadri.